AbstractTrimethylolpropane (TMP) is frequently used as a trifunctional branching and chain‐extending agent in polyurethane production. This article deals with the analysis of the reactivities of the three primary hydroxyl groups of TMP during reactions with two exemplary diisocyanates: aromatic diphenylmethane‐4,4′‐diisocyanate and aliphatic m‐tetramethylxylylene diisocyanate. The method of examination is online attenuated total reflection/Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. With this method, reactions in progress can be monitored simultaneously. It is shown that the addition of an isocyanate (here phenyl isocyanate) to the alcohol affects the rate of subsequent reactions. The higher the substitution degree is, the smaller the rate constant is of the reaction between the remaining free hydroxyl groups and the diisocyanates. This effect is largely determined by the type of diisocyanate. For reactions with very reactive aromatic diisocyanates, steric hindrance plays a significant role. For aliphatic diisocyanates, the substitution shows only minor effects because of the slowly reacting isocyanate groups. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 4090–4097, 2006