Ab initio SCF-MO calculations at the 3-21G level with full geometry optimization were performed for the three isomers of 1,3-butadienol. Improved energy estimates were obtained with single-point calculations at the 6-31G∗ and MP2/6-31G∗ levels of theory. The critical points for rotation about the central C-C bond were located for both configurations of the OH group. trans-Butadien-1-ol has stable gauche forms (θ = 39° ), with gauche-trans energy differences of ca. 10kJ mol¯¹, very close to the reported values for butadiene itself. The energies and geometries of the less stable conformers of cis-butadien-1-ol and butadien-2-ol are strongly dependent on the OH group configuration, lying ca. 1.3-15.5 kJ mol¯¹ above the s-trans minima, with θ values ranging from 0° to 43.5°.