The primary commercial use of dimethyl methylphosphonate is as a flame retardant. Other commercial uses are a preignition additive for gasoline, anti-foaming agent, plasticizer, stabilizer, textile conditioner, antistatic agent, and an additive for solvents and low-temperature hydraulic fluids. It can be used as a catalyst and a reagent in organic synthesis, as it can generate a highly reactive ylide. The yearly production in the United States varies between .
About 190 liters of dimethyl methylphosphonate, together with other chemicals, were released during the crash of El Al Flight 1862 at Bijlmer in Amsterdam in 1992.