Hard white metal with a density of 12.30 g/cm3. Melting point 2310 ℃, boiling point 3900 ℃. Valences 2, 3, 4 and 8. The first ionization energy is 7.37 electron volts. Chemical properties are very stable. When the temperature reaches 100 ℃, it is resistant to common acids including aqua regia, and also resistant to hydrofluoric acid and phosphoric acid. At room temperature, iodine in chlorine water, bromine water and alcohol can slightly corrode ruthenium. Resistant to many molten metals including lead, lithium, potassium, sodium, copper, silver and gold. Works with molten alkaline hydroxides, carbonates and cyanides.

Ruthenium is an excellent catalyst: used in hydrogenation, isomerization, oxidation and reforming reactions. The pure metal ruthenium has very few uses. It is an effective hardener for platinum and palladium. It is used to manufacture electrical contact alloys, as well as hard grinding carbides. In 2016, a team led by Nobel Laureate in Chemistry and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Southern California, George Euler, used a metal ruthenium-based catalyst for the first time to directly convert carbon dioxide captured from the air into methanol fuel with a conversion rate of 79%.