Six palladium(II) dithiocarbamates of general formula Pd(AmDTC) 2 , where HAmDTC=aminedithiocarbamic acid, [Pd(II) piperidinedithiocarbamate (1), Pd(II) 4-methylpiperidinedithiocarbamate (2), Pd(II) N-methylbenzyldithiocarbamate (3), Pd(II) dibenzyldithiocarbamate (4), Pd(II) dicyclohexyldithiocarbamate (5), Pd(II) N-cyclohexyl-N-methyldithiocarbamate (6)] have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, FT-IR, 1 H and 13 C NMR. The X-ray structure of Pd(II), compounds 3 and 4, showed that the ligands are chelated by both sulfur atoms with bond angles S1–Pd–S4=179.24(2)° and S2–Pd–S3=179.09(5)°, with a distorted square planar geometry around Pd. All these complexes were screened for cytotoxic and antibacterial effects and showed significant antibacterial activity and no substantial in vitro cytotoxicity indicating specificity of the compounds.