SummaryIn this paper, the problem of dissipativity and passivity analysis is investigated for discrete‐time complex‐valued neural networks with time‐varying delays. Both leakage and discrete time‐varying delays have been considered. By constructing a suitable Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional and by using discretized Jensen's inequality approach, sufficient conditions have been established to guarantee the (Q,S,R) − γ dissipativity and passivity of the addressed discrete‐time complex‐valued neural networks. These conditions are derived in terms of complex‐valued linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), which can be checked numerically using Yet Another LMI Parser toolbox in Matrix Laboratory. Finally, three numerical examples are established to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained theoretical results. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.