Because of its considerable stability, it is commonly used as pigment and was originally called viridian. It is used in paints, inks, and glasses. It is the colourant in "chrome green" and "institutional green." Chromium oxide is the precursor to the magnetic pigment chromium dioxide, according to the following reaction: Cr2O3 + 3 CrO3 → 5 CrO2 + O2.

It is one of the materials that are used when polishing the edges of knives on a piece of leather (also called stropping). In this context it is often known as green compound.