AbstractBoth isomers of 2-anilido-3,4-dimethyl-5-phenyl-1,3,2-oxazaphospholidine-2-thiones (2 a and 2 b) derived from (-)ephedrine were obtained and converted to corresponding 2-thiomethyl derivatives (3 a and 3 b). The Staudinger-Wittig-type reaction of P-N bond cleavage was found to proceed with full retention of configuration at P-atom involved into five-membered ring system.