Several routes exist for the production of cyclohexenone. For the laboratory scale, it can be produced from resorcinol via 1,3-cyclohexanedione.
Cyclohexenone is obtained by Birch reduction of anisole followed by acid hydrolysis.
It can be obtained from cyclohexanone by α-bromination followed by treatment with base. Hydrolysis of 3-chloro cyclohexene followed by oxidation of the cyclohexenol is yet another route.
Cyclohexenone is produced industrially by catalytic oxidation of cyclohexene, for example with hydrogen peroxide and vanadium catalysts. Several patents describe diverse oxidizing agents and catalysts.