Acrylic acid is the simplest unsaturated carboxylic acid, consisting of a vinyl group connected directly to a carboxylic acid terminus. This colorless liquid has a characteristic acrid or tart smell. It is miscible with water, alcohols, ethers, and chloroform.

Acrylic acids polymerise very easily. The polymerization is catalysed by heat, light, and peroxides and inhibited by stabilizers, such as monomethyl ether of hydroquinone or hydroquinone itself. These phenolic inhibitors are effective only in the presence of oxygen. The highly exothermic, spontaneous polymerization of acrylic acid is extremely violent.

Acrylic acid is used in the field of application of plastics, paper manufacture and coating, exterior house paints for wood and masonry, coatings for compressed board and related building materials, flocculation of mineral ore fines and wastewater, and treatment of sewage, printing inks, interior wall paints, floor polishes, floor and wall coverings, industrial primers, textile sizing, treatment and finishing, leather impregnation and finishing, masonry sealers, lubricating and fuel oil additives, lacquers for automotive, appliance and furniture finishes, pharmaceutical binders, and hot metal coatings.