A series of iron, cobalt and nickel metal phosphides of chemical formula FexP, Co2P and Ni2P with high specific surface areas of 331.1, 294.2 and 228.0 m(2) g(-1), respectively, was firstly synthesized by phenol-formaldehyde resin route. It was found that the as-prepared Co2P and Ni2P samples synthesized using phenol-formaldehyde resin as a carbon source showed much higher BET surface areas than those prepared using other carbon sources reported before, including cinnamic strong alkali anion exchange resin, p-phenylenediamine and hexamethylenetetramine. This phenol-formaldehyde resin route was proved to be as universal as traditional H-2 reduction method.