The preparation and the characterization of nickel(II) complexes with the neutral, N 4 non-macrocyclic Schiff base ligands L1=1,2-bis(2′-pyridylbenzyleneimino)benzene and L2=1,2-bis(2′-pyridylethyleneimino)benzene, of formulae Ni(LX)Cl 2 are reported. The structure of the complex, [Ni(L1)Cl 2 ] · EtOH, has been determined by X-ray diffraction methods. The nickel atom has a six coordinate NiN 4 Cl 2 chromophore with distorted octahedral coordination, while the ligand L acts as a tetradentatechelate, with the ligated atoms in an essentially planar arrangement around the metal and the remaining axial coordination sites occupied by chloro ligands. The reactions of the above complexes and that of Ni(L3)Cl 2 with 1,4-phenyldiisocyanide (phdi) formed polymeric compounds of the type [(LX)Ni(phdi)] n Cl 2n which have been characterized by elemental analysis, magnetic susceptibility measurements, IR and UV-Visspectroscopic techniques. The solid state electrical conductivity of the polymeric complexes was approximately 10 −7 (Ω · m) −1 , which further increased by partial oxidation with I 2 .