Like other primary phosphines, phenylphosphine has an intense penetrating odor and is highly oxidizable.

Phenylphosphine can be produced by reducing dichlorophenylphosphine with lithium aluminum hydride in ether: This reaction is performed under a nitrogen atmosphere to prevent side reactions involving oxygen.

[2] Bis(2-cyanoethylphenyl)phosphine, which is of interest as a synthetic intermediate, can be made from phenylphosphine by base-catalyzed allylic addition to acrylonitrile.

Phosphorinanones can be used to prepare alkenes, amines, indoles, and secondary and tertiary alcohols by reduction, Grignard, and Reformatsky reagents.

Using radical initiations or UV irradiation, polyaddition of phenylphosphine to 1,4-divinylbenzene or 1,4-diisopropenylbenzene will form phosphorus-containing polymers, which have self-extinguishing properties.