Pure ruthenium, a cool white metal, is rarely used by itself because it is extremely difficult to work. It remains hard and brittle even at temperatures as high as 1500°C. Ruthenium is, however, a useful addition to platinum and palladium to impart hardness in certain jewellery alloys and to improve resistance to abrasion in electrical contact surfaces.

In the electronics and chemicals industries, ruthenium has some important applications on account of its electrical and electrochemical properties, good catalytic properties, good catalytic activity, resistance to corrosion and stability under varying operating conditions.

Its principal application in the electronics sector is for use in resistors. Increasingly, ruthenium is also being used in computer hard discs to increase the density at which data is stored.

In the future, the use of ruthenium in alloys for aircraft turbine blades will help reduce the CO₂ impact of air travel on the environment. If current prototypes are successful, their high melting points and high temperature stability will allow for higher temperatures and, therefore, a more efficient burning of aircraft fuel.
Ruthenium is also being used in certain catalytic applications in today's gas to liquids technology to generate various sulphur-free, high-quality fuels.