The present invention relates to a method for producing 1-hydroxymethyl-1,2-diphenyloxiranes from 2,3-diphenylpropenals by means of epoxidation and reduction. The formation of objectionable by-products can be suppressed in that the reduction is started before the 2,3-5 diphenylpropenal is completely converted. The hydroxymethyl diphenyloxiranes represent valuable intermediate products for producing 1-azolylmethyl-1,2-diphenyloxiranes, wherein the latter can be easily produced from said intermediate products by introducing the azolyl group.
