Two new anthracen- and pyrene-based coumarin derivatives, 3-(4-(anthracen-10-yl)phenyl)coumarin (4) and 3-(4-(pyrene-1-yl)phenyl)coumarin (5), were synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR, element analysis and single crystal X-ray crystallography. The UV–vis absorption and photoluminescence spectra of these coumarin derivatives were investigated. The results show that compound 4 and 5 exhibit blue and blue-green emissions, respectively, under ultraviolet light excitation. Compared with the compound 4, the emission peak of compound 5 was bathochromically shifted by about 80nm due to the more planar structure and larger π-conjugation.