The kinetics of the metathetical reaction of phenyl radical with methane has been studied theoretically and experimentally. The rate constants determined by two complementary methods, pyrolysis/Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and pulsed laser photolysis/mass spectrometry in the temperature range 600-980 K, give the Arrhenius equation: k(1) = 10(12.78 +/-0.13) exp[(-6201 +/- 225)/T] cm(3)/(mol s). At the best theoretical level employed (G2M(CC,MP2)), the barrier for the reaction at 0 K is E-1(0) = 9.3 kcal/mol. The rate constant k(1) calculated from theoretical molecular parameters fits experimental data if the barrier height is increased to 10.5 kcal/mol. The fitted barrier is well within the 2-3 kcal/mol accuracy of the G2M method for the present open-shell, seven-heavy-atom system. Because of the relatively high reaction barrier and the predicted high imaginary frequency (1551 cm(-1)), tunneling corrections resulted in a significant enhancement in the calculated rate constant, 150% at 500 K and 7% at 2000 K. The theoretical result also correlated well with recently reported shock-tube data measured in the temperature range 1050-1450 K by UV absorption spectrometry. Kinetic analysis of the toluene formation data obtained from the photolysis of acetophenone without and with added H-2 and CH4 gave the rate constant for the recombination of CH3 and C6H5, k(2) = (1.38 +/- 0.08) x 10(13) exp[-(23 +/- 36)/T] cm(3)/(mol s) for the temperature range 300-980 K.