Coordination to a Zn(II) center of chelating π-delocalized nitrogen donor ligands such as 5-X-1,10-phenanthrolines (X ) OMe, NMe 2 , trans-CHdCHC 6 H 4 -4′-NMe 2 , trans,trans-(CHd CH) 2 C 6 H 4 -4′-NMe 2 ) produces a significant enhancement of their quadratic hyperpolarizability measured either by the EFISH technique (β 1.34 ) or by absorption and emission solvatochromic investigations (β CT ) working with an incident wavelength of 1.34 µm. However, the enhancement factor by metal coordination of the quadratic hyperpolarizability of planar 5-X-1,10-phenanthrolines is lower than that of the nonplanar and flexible ligand 4-(p-(dibutylamino)styryl)-4′-methyl-2,2′-bipyridine because this latter ligand becomes planar and rigid by coordination. Coordination of 5-(trans-CHdCHC 6 H 4 -4′-NMe 2 )-1,10-phenanthroline to the softer Cd(CH 3 CO 2 ) 2 does not produce an enhancement of the quadratic hyperpolarizability. This is due to a significant decrease of ∆µ eg (difference of the dipole moment in the excited and ground states of the intraligand charge transfer (ILCT)) upon coordination to the Cd(II) center. Strangely enough, the second-order NLO response of Zn(II) and Pt(II) complexes carrying two 4-trans-NC 5 H 4 CHdCHC 6 H 4 -4′-NMe 2 stilbazole ligands in a tetrahedral or planar coordination indicates a significant increase, upon coordination, of the quadratic hyperpolarizability β CT , along the ILCT transition of the ligand, but an irrelevant increase of β 1.34 , which is the vectorial component of the tensor β along the molecular dipole moment axis, although in the free ligand both β CT and β 1.34 are comparable. The lack of coincidence of the molecular dipole moment axis with the direction of the ILCT transition of the ligand, a major origin of the second-order NLO response, could explain why β CT and β 1.34 values are not comparable. In fact, a detailed solvatochromic analysis shows that the increase of β CT upon coordination to Zn(II) or Pt(II) of the single stilbazole ligand is not significant, in agreement with EFISH measurements and the irrelevant red shift of the ILCT transition.