In this article, a new reactivity of dimethyl hydrogen phosphonate is described. It was established that the reaction between dimethyl hydrogen phosphonate and urethane encompasses two simultaneous processes: an exchange reaction between the methoxy groups of the phosphonate and urethane groups and alkylation of the urethane. The reaction of dimethyl hydrogen phosphonate with acetanilide represents an alkylation of the amido group. The structure of the resulting products was studied by means of 1H, 31P, and 13C NMR spectroscopy. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 11:205–208, 2000