Alkyltellurols are colorless liquids with strong odors.  Samples usually appear yellowish owing to the presence of dialkylditelluride impurities. Near room temperature, methanetellurol degrades with loss of elemental tellurium.  It is reported to ignite in air. 
Aryltellurols are more robust and have been obtained as colorless crystals. Some of the most stable tellurols are the bulky silylated derivatives of tris(trimethylsilyl)methane and analogues. One series of readily isolable tellurols is , , and .