Osmium is a platinum group element, which exists almost completely in elemental state and is highly dispersed in various ores. For example, the original platinum ore, nickel-copper sulfide ore, magnetite and so on. Platinum group elements co-exist almost without exception to form natural alloys. In ores containing platinum group elements, platinum is usually the main component, while the rest of the platinum group elements must be found through chemical analysis due to their small content. Since osmium, iridium, palladium, rhodium, and ruthenium all form ores together with platinum, they are all found in the residues after platinum extraction from platinum ores. The platinum group elements are chemically stable. In addition to platinum and palladium, they are not only insoluble in common acids, but also in aqua regia. Platinum is very soluble in aqua regia, and palladium is also soluble in hot nitric acid. All platinum group elements have a strong tendency to form coordination compounds.

Osmium can be used as a catalyst in industry. When osmium is used as a catalyst for ammonia synthesis or hydrogenation, higher conversions can be obtained at not too high temperatures. If a little osmium is mixed into platinum, it can be made into a hard and sharp osmium-platinum alloy scalpel.