The agriculture industry uses it as a fertilizer. In particular, its use has been suggested for treatment of whiptail in broccoli and cauliflower in molybdenum-deficient soils.
It is used in industry for corrosion inhibition, as it is a non-oxidizing anodic inhibitor. The addition of sodium molybdate significantly reduces the nitrite requirement of fluids inhibited with nitrite-amine, and improves the corrosion protection of carboxylate salt fluids.
In industrial water treatment applications where galvanic corrosion is a potential due to bimetallic construction, the application of sodium molybdate is preferred over sodium nitrite.