Sodium metabisulfite is primarily used as an antioxidant and antimicrobial agent in a wide variety of foods and drugs. It is also used as the main additive in the prevention of melanosis in shrimp.

Sodium metabisulfite may be used as an antioxidant which when added to anesthetic formulations serves to minimize epinephrine oxidation in the quantification of epinephrine in dental anesthetic solutions by capillary electrophoresis. Sodium metabisulfite may also be used as a standard in the determination of catecholamines in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.