Reliable information on health and safety of this compound is limited. The ChemSpider entry for MCHM indicates that it has been evaluated for ligand activity via SimBioSys's LASSO analysis, which predicted low to no activity on 40 biologically significant receptors, indicating a low likelihood for significant biological activity on them. Eastman Chemical Company's MSDS for "crude" (unpurified) MCHM, as supplied by NPR, reports an oral LD-50 of 825 mg/kg and a dermal LD-50 greater than 2,000 mg/kg, both in rats. Further data from Eastman's internal studies was released after the Elk River, West Virginia (2014) spill, including the studies upon which the LD-50 estimate was based and one 28-day study of oral toxicity of pure MCHM which concluded that 400 mg/kg doses were associated with erythropoietic, liver, and kidney effects, though these were not considered more than "minor toxicity" and the "no observed effect" level was considered to be 100 mg/kg/day.

A WHO study of the toxicity of alicyclic primary alcohols and related alicyclic carbohydrates (of which MCHM is one type) found that LD-50 values for substances in this class generally "ranged from 890 to 5700 mg/kg bw for rats and > 1000 to 4000 mg/kg bw for mice, demonstrating that the oral acute toxicity of alicyclic primary alcohols, aldehydes, acids and related esters is low". The same study indicated that these alcohols are metabolized primarily to corresponding carboxylic acids, which in the case of MCHM is 4-methylcyclohexanecarboxylic acid (CAS 13064-83-0), a naphthenic acid. The toxicity and environmental properties of these naphthenic acids have been well studied recently due to their occurrence as a major contaminant in water used for extraction of oil from tar sands. Naphthenic acids have both acute and chronic toxicity to fish and other organisms. The methyl ester of this acid is also listed as one of the major impurities in the "crude MCHM" as supplied by Eastman.

The closely related compound cyclohexanedimethanol (CAS 105-08-8) exhibits low toxicity (3.5 g/kg) when fed orally to rats.

Cyclohexanemethanol (or cyclohexylmethanol, CHM, CAS 100-49-2), another closely related compound, which differs only in lacking a methyl substituent, has been found as a naturally occurring fusel alcohol in mango wine at concentrations of 1.45 mg/l, in which it is considered an aroma constituent. LASSO analysis predicts low to no activity on 40 receptors, similarly to MCHM.