Ethyl acetate is a colorless liquid with a fruity odor, flammable, less dense than water, and slightly miscible with it. Its vapors are denser than air.

It is obtained by the slow distillation of a mixture of acetic acid, ethyl alcohol, and sulfuric acid, or from anhydrous acetaldehyde in the presence of aluminum ethoxide. It is used in artificial fruit essences, as a solvent for nitrocellulose, varnishes, and lacquers, and in the manufacture of artificial leather, films, photographic plates, artificial silk, perfumes, and fabric cleaners, among others.