Hydroxamic acids are used extensively in flotation of rare earth minerals during the concentration and extraction of ores to be subjected to further processing.
Some hydroxamic acids (e.g. vorinostat, belinostat, panobinostat, and trichostatin A) are HDAC inhibitors with anti-cancer properties. Fosmidomycin is a natural hydroxamic acid inhibitor of 1-deoxy--xylulose-5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXP reductoisomerase). Hydroxamic acids have also been investigated for reprocessing of irradiated fuel.