The 2‐phosphaindolizines 1 react with hydrogen sulfide and elemental sulfur to give the new zwitterionic heterocyclic systems 2 of the N‐pyridiniomethyl dithiophosphinate type. In contrast, no reaction is observed with sulfur alone. MeI methylates 2e,f at sulfur. The analogous pyridiniodiselenophosphinate 5 results from the reaction of 1a with 1,3,2,4‐diselenadiphosphetane‐2,4‐diselenide, 4a, in the absence of an additional base. As a further product, the perselenophosphinic anhydride 6 is identified. In the presence of triethylamine, 1a reacts with each of the diselenides 4a–c to give the new triethylammonium diselenophosphinates 7a–c, respectively. This reaction can be extended to 1‐aza‐2‐phosphaindolizine, 8, which yields with each of 4a,b and NEt3 the diselenophosphinates 9a,b, respectively. The anhydride 6 and the diselenophosphinates 7 and 9 result from an electrophilic substitution at the phosphaindolizine ring. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 9:445–452, 1998