New 2,6-diacetylpyridine bis(2-aminobenzoylhydrazone) lanthanide complexes were formed in the metal-induced one-step [1+2] condensation reaction between 2,6-diacetylpyridine and 2-aminobenzoylhydrazide in the presence of lanthanide (La 3+ , Pr 3+ , Nd 3+ , Sm 3+ , Eu 3+ , Gd 3+ , Tb 3+ , Dy 3+ , Ho 3+ , Er 3+ , Tm 3+ or Yb 3+ ) nitrates as template agents. The analytical and spectral characterizations of all the compounds were correlated with the single crystal X-ray structural determination of Eu 3+ , Gd 3+ , Tb 3+ , Dy 3+ and Er 3+ nitrate complexes. The Eu 3+ , Gd 3+ , Tb 3+ and Dy 3+ complexes of pentadentate 2,6-diacetylpyridine bis(2-aminobenzoylhydrazone) with the N 3 O 2 set of donor atoms display a high and relatively rare coordination number of 11, whereas the Er 3+ ion complex is 9-coordinated, which is consistent with the lanthanide contraction phenomenon. The scission of 21-mer RNA was assessed for Eu 3+ , Gd 3+ and Tb 3+ nitrate complexes. Lanthanide complexes not covalently attached to the oligonucleotide are able to cleave RNA at the target site in a sequence-selective or non-selective manner depending on the presence of protecting 12-mer 2′OMe RNA.