In this work, the solubility of vanillyl alcohol in eight pure solvents was measured by using a static gravimetric method over the temperature range from 293.15 K to 343.15 K. It was found that the solubility of vanillyl alcohol in ethanol is the highest while solubility in butyl acetate is the least among all the selected solvents. The solubility values increase with the temperature rise. The capability of vanillyl alcohol to form hydrogen bond with solvents was applied to explain the difference of solubility in these selected pure solvents. Furthermore, the modified Apelblat equation, the lambda h equation and the Wilson equation were used to correlate the experimental solubility. Finally, the thermodynamic properties of vanillyl alcohol in different pure solvents were investigated and are discussed based on the Wilson equation and the experimental solubility date. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd.