In the title solvate, C14H12N2O·0.5C6H6, the complete benzene molecule is generated by a crystallographic inversion centre. The dihedral angle between the planes of the benzimidazole moiety and the phenol substituent is 75.28 (3)°. In the crystal, O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into parallel chains propagating along [100]. The mol-ecules are further connected by C-H⋯π inter-actions.