Abstract The characteristic impedance of a rock is defined as the product of the sonic velocity and the density of the rock. Based on previous studies, this article finds that: (1) For an intact rock, its characteristic impedance is a comprehensive physical property, since it is closely related with strengths, fracture toughness, Young’s modulus, and Poisson’s ratio. (2) For rock masses, their characteristic impedances either increase markedly or slightly with increasing depth. (3) The bursts of intact rocks in laboratory are dependent on their characteristic impedances to a great extent, and strong rock bursts happen mostly in the rocks with large characteristic impedance. (4) Rock burst occurrence in tunnel and mines has a close relation with the characteristic impedances of the rocks. (5) Laboratory experiments on different rock samples show that seismic velocity increases as applied stress rises, and field monitored results from coal mines indicate that in the areas where rock bursts happened, the seismic velocity was increasing markedly before or during the bursts. (7) Drillability of rock depends on the characteristic impedance of the rock and the rock with larger impedance has lower drillability or lower penetration rate. (8) The potential applications of characteristic impedance include evaluation and classification of rock masses, and prediction of rock burst proneness and drillability.