Which metal has the highest melting point of all metallic elements? Tungsten has the highest melting point, at about 3,400 °C.
Tungsten is exceptionally resistant to heat because its atoms are held together by very strong metallic bonds. That stability also gives it a high density and remarkable hardness. The element was isolated in 1783 by Spanish chemists Juan José and Fausto Elhuyar from tungsten compounds.
Its heat resistance made tungsten valuable for incandescent-lamp filaments, although LED lighting has largely replaced those lamps. It is still used in electrodes, cutting tools, high-temperature furnace parts, and heavy alloys.
A common mix-up is carbon, which can withstand even higher temperatures but is not a metal. At ordinary pressure, carbon generally sublimes rather than melting; among metallic elements, tungsten is the canonical answer.