diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 2dc2c8629be8..881d9d04851f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Correctly handle duplicate CLI arguments ([#19416](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/19416))
 - Don’t emit color-mix fallback rules inside `@keyframes` ([#19419](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/19419))
 - CLI: Don't hang when output is `/dev/stdout` ([#19421](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/19421))
+- Allow `@apply` to be used with CSS mixins ([#19427](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/19427))
 
 ### Added
 
diff --git a/packages/tailwindcss/src/apply.ts b/packages/tailwindcss/src/apply.ts
index c7bcc5e28801..2d5e5b847bbc 100644
--- a/packages/tailwindcss/src/apply.ts
+++ b/packages/tailwindcss/src/apply.ts
@@ -163,13 +163,52 @@ export function substituteAtApply(ast: AstNode[], designSystem: DesignSystem) {
 
       let parts = child.params.split(/(\s+)/g)
       let candidateOffsets: Record<string, number> = {}
+      let normalIdents: string[] = []
+      let dashedIdents: string[] = []
 
       let offset = 0
       for (let [idx, part] of parts.entries()) {
-        if (idx % 2 === 0) candidateOffsets[part] = offset
+        if (idx % 2 === 0) {
+          if (part[0] === '-' && part[1] === '-') {
+            dashedIdents.push(part)
+          } else {
+            normalIdents.push(part)
+          }
+
+          candidateOffsets[part] = offset
+        }
+
         offset += part.length
       }
 
+      if (dashedIdents.length) {
+        // If we have an `@apply` that only consists of dashed idents then the
+        // user is intending to use a CSS mixin:
+        // https://drafts.csswg.org/css-mixins-1/#apply-rule
+        //
+        // These are not considered utilities and need to be emitted literally.
+        if (normalIdents.length === 0) return WalkAction.Skip
+
+        // If we find a dashed ident *here* it means that someone is trying
+        // to use mixins and our `@apply` behavior together.
+        //
+        // This is invalid and the rules must be written separately. Let the
+        // user know they need to move them into a separate rule.
+        let list = dashedIdents.join(' ')
+
+        throw new Error(
+          `You cannot use \`@apply\` with both mixins and utilities. Please move \`@apply ${list}\` into a separate rule.`,
+        )
+      }
+
+      let hasBody = child.nodes.length > 0
+
+      if (hasBody && normalIdents.length) {
+        let list = normalIdents.join(' ')
+
+        throw new Error(`The rule \`@apply ${list}\` must not have a body.`)
+      }
+
       // Replace the `@apply` rule with the actual utility classes
       {
         // Parse the candidates to an AST that we can replace the `@apply` rule
diff --git a/packages/tailwindcss/src/ast.ts b/packages/tailwindcss/src/ast.ts
index ab0a4fb4d572..04a954c1023c 100644
--- a/packages/tailwindcss/src/ast.ts
+++ b/packages/tailwindcss/src/ast.ts
@@ -400,7 +400,8 @@ export function optimizeAst(
         copy.name === '@charset' ||
         copy.name === '@custom-media' ||
         copy.name === '@namespace' ||
-        copy.name === '@import'
+        copy.name === '@import' ||
+        copy.name === '@apply'
       ) {
         parent.push(copy)
       }
diff --git a/packages/tailwindcss/src/index.test.ts b/packages/tailwindcss/src/index.test.ts
index 5cd5282b00f7..e1697800fdde 100644
--- a/packages/tailwindcss/src/index.test.ts
+++ b/packages/tailwindcss/src/index.test.ts
@@ -855,6 +855,74 @@ describe('@apply', () => {
       }"
     `)
   })
+
+  it('should be usable with CSS mixins', async () => {
+    let compiler = await compile(css`
+      .foo {
+        /* Utility usage */
+        @apply underline;
+
+        /* CSS mixin usage */
+        @apply --my-mixin-1;
+        @apply --my-mixin-1();
+        @apply --my-mixin-1 --my-mixin-2;
+        @apply --my-mixin-1() --my-mixin-2();
+        @apply --my-mixin-3 {
+          color: red;
+        }
+      }
+    `)
+
+    expect(compiler.build([])).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`
+      ".foo {
+        text-decoration-line: underline;
+        @apply --my-mixin-1;
+        @apply --my-mixin-1();
+        @apply --my-mixin-1 --my-mixin-2;
+        @apply --my-mixin-1() --my-mixin-2();
+        @apply --my-mixin-3 {
+          color: red;
+        }
+      }
+      "
+    `)
+  })
+
+  it('should error when trying to use mixins and utilities together', async () => {
+    await expect(
+      compile(css`
+        .foo {
+          @apply underline --my-mixin-1;
+        }
+      `),
+    ).rejects.toThrowErrorMatchingInlineSnapshot(
+      `[Error: You cannot use \`@apply\` with both mixins and utilities. Please move \`@apply --my-mixin-1\` into a separate rule.]`,
+    )
+
+    await expect(
+      compile(css`
+        .foo {
+          @apply --my-mixin-1 underline;
+        }
+      `),
+    ).rejects.toThrowErrorMatchingInlineSnapshot(
+      `[Error: You cannot use \`@apply\` with both mixins and utilities. Please move \`@apply --my-mixin-1\` into a separate rule.]`,
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('should error when used with a body', async () => {
+    await expect(
+      compile(css`
+        .foo {
+          @apply underline {
+            color: red;
+          }
+        }
+      `),
+    ).rejects.toThrowErrorMatchingInlineSnapshot(
+      `[Error: The rule \`@apply underline\` must not have a body.]`,
+    )
+  })
 })
 
 describe('arbitrary variants', () => {