Ring-in-ring nanostructures can be assembled from readily available starting materials, including dipyridyl ligands, (en)Pd(NO 3 ) 2 , and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD). When a series of dipyridyl ligands are mixed with β-CD and Pd(II) in aqueous solution, various self-assembled geometries can be obtained as a result of a combination of hydrobic interactions and metal–ligand coordinations. In the cases of dipyridyl ligands with flexible linker, dinuclear coordination macrocycles M 2 L 2 are formed and included in the cavity of β-CD to form ring-in-ring complexes. When more rigid dipyridyl ligands are used, a tetranuclear coordination macrocycle M 4 L 4 prevails and shows no interaction with β-CD, as apposed to the flexible ones.