Three new coordination polymers with different architectures, {[Zn 2 (bta)(2,2′-bipy) 2 ]·H 2 O} n (1), {[Cd 2 (bta)(2,2′-bipy) 2 (H 2 O)]·H 2 O} n (2) and [Cd 3 (bta)(Hbiim) 2 (H 2 biim)] n (3), where H 4 bta=biphenyl-2,2′,4,4′-tetracarboxylic acid, 2,2′-bipy=2,2′-bipyridine and H 2 biim=1H,1′H-2,2′-biimidazole, have been obtained by the reactions of metal nitrates, H 4 bta, the second ligands and H 2 O under similar hydrothermal conditions. All the polymers are three-dimensional (3D) constructions with different networks, in which 1, 2 and 3 exhibit a (4 2 ·8 4 )-pts, (4 2 ·6 3 ·8)-sra and (4 16 ·6 5 ) topology, respectively. The bta ligands in 1–3 adopt η 6 ,μ 6 -hexadentate, η 8 ,μ 5 -tetradentate and η 10 ,μ 7 -decadaldentate coordination modes, respectively, and the corresponding angles of two benzene rings in the ligand of each compound are 45.96°, 54.93° and 52.50°, respectively. This study indicates that the natures of metal ions and the second ligands are crucial factors for self-assemble of coordination polymers.