A practical generalisable procedure to synthesize hydroxymethylene H-bisphosphinates has been optimised. Unlike previous reports, numerous alkyl (including an alendronate bisphosphinate analogue) or (hetero)aryl compounds were rapidly obtained in satisfactory to excellent yields. A side product could have been identified as a phosphino-phosphonate isomer and plausible mechanistic pathways are proposed here. Moreover to check the literature data, a pK_a value study was also performed.