It can be miscible with water, ethyl (ether), methanol, propyl (ketone), ammonia form, tetrahydrocarbon, ethylene ammonia, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, acetamide solution and many unsaturated hydrocarbons, but cannot be miscible with saturated hydrocarbons. It can dissolve some inorganic salts, such as silver nitrate, lithium nitrate and magnesium bromide.

It can form an azeotrope with water (16% water content), and the azeotrope point is 76°C
The main use of acetonitrile is as a solvent. A solvent used in the petroleum industry to remove tar, phenols, etc., from petroleum hydrocarbons. In the oil industry, it is used as a solvent to extract fatty acids from vegetable oil, and in medicine as a reaction medium for recrystallization of steroid drugs. Acetonitrile is an intermediate of medicine (vitamin B1), spices, and a raw material for the manufacture of mitrazine nitrogen fertilizer synergists. It is also used as a denaturant of alcohol. In addition, it can also be used to synthesize ethylamine, acetic acid, etc., and has many uses in fabric dyeing and lighting industries.