Abstract The infrared spectra (3500–50 cm −1 ) of the gas and solid and the Raman spectra (3500–50 cm −1 ) of the liquid and solid have been recorded for 2-hexyne, CH 3 –CC–CH 2 CH 2 CH 3 . Variable temperature studies of the infrared spectrum (3500–400 cm −1 ) of 2-hexyne dissolved in liquid krypton have also been recorded. Utilizing four anti / gauche conformer pairs, the anti ( trans ) conformer is found to be the lower energy form with an enthalpy difference of 74±8 cm −1 (0.88±0.10 kJ/mol) determined from krypton solutions over the temperature range −105 to −150 °C. At room temperature it is estimated that there is 42% of the anti conformer present. Equilibrium geometries and energies of the two conformers have been determined by ab initio (HF and MP2) and hybrid DFT (B3LYP) methods using a number of basis sets. Only the HF and DFT methods predict the anti conformer as the more stable form as found experimentally. A vibrational assignment is proposed based on the force constants, relative intensities, depolarization ratios from the ab initio and DFT calculations and on rotational band contours obtained using the calculated equilibrium geometries. From calculated energies it is shown that the CH 3 group exhibits almost completely free rotation which is in agreement with the observation of sub-band structure for the degenerate methyl vibrations from which values of the Coriolis coupling constants, ζ , have been determined. The results are compared to similar properties of some corresponding molecules.