Two new mononuclear iron(III) complexes, [Fe(HL)2](ClO4) · (H2O)1.75· CH3CN (1) and [Fe(HL)Cl2] · DMF (2) [H2L = 3‐(2‐phenol)‐5‐(pyridin‐2‐yl)‐1,2,4‐triazole] have been synthesized and characterized by X‐ray single‐crystal structure analysis. The single crystal X‐ray crystallographic studies reveal that the central iron atom has a distorted octahedral environment for 1 and a distorted square pyramidal geometry for 2. The DNA cleavage activity of the iron(III) complexes was measured, indicating that the six‐coordinated iron(III) (complex 1) was cleavage inactive and only five‐coordinated complex 2 effectively promoted the cleavage of plasmid DNA in the presence and/or absence of activating agents (peroxide oxygen) at physiological pH and temperature. The mechanism of plasmid DNA cleavage was also studied by adding standard radical scavengers. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.