Benzene is converted to cyclohexylbenzene by acid-catalyzed alkylation with cyclohexene. [5] Cyclohexylbenzene is a precursor of phenol and cyclohexanone. [6]

Hydration of cyclohexene yields cyclohexanol, which can be dehydrogenated to yield cyclohexanone, a precursor to caprolactam. [7]

Oxidative cleavage of cyclohexene produces adipic acid. Hydrogen peroxide was used as an oxidizing agent in the presence of a tungsten catalyst. [8] Bromination gives 1,2-dibromocyclohexane.
Cyclohexene is most stable in the half-chair conformation,[10] distinct from the chair preference for cyclohexane. One basis for the chair's cyclohexane conformational preference is that it allows each bond of the ring to adopt a staggered conformation. However, for cyclohexene, the alkene is planar, corresponding to an overlapping conformation at this bond.