The structure and elastic properties of a series of iron phosphate glasses are investigated using infrared reflectivity and ultrasonic pulse-echo measurements. The mid-infrared and far-infrared spectra give information about phosphate related vibrational modes and the nature of the bond between the metal cat-ion and its surrounding oxygen within the glass network. The structural role of the Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions in these glasses in terms of four-fold coordinated tetrahedral and/or six-fold coordinated octahedral is discussed. The room temperature ultrasonic velocities (both longitudinal and transverse) in these glasses are determined by the pulse-echo technique. The experimental results are used to obtain the elastic constants. A correlation between the structure and the elastic properties of these glasses is given.