The structures of solvated complexes of Mn(II), Fe(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), and In(III) ions in 1,1,3,3-tetramethylurea (TMU) have been determined by means of EXAFS (extended X-ray absorption fine structure) and electronic spectroscopy. The solvation structures in TMU are square pyramidal for the Mn(II) and Ni(II) ions, distorted tetrahedral for the Co(II) and Cu(II) ions, tetrahedral for the Zn(II) ion, and octahedral for the Cd(II) and In(III) ions, while in water all these metal ions are six-coordinated octahedrons. The solvation structure of Fe(II) ion is square pyramidal or trigonal bipyramidal. In the bulky TMU solvent, the coordination number should be reduced for relaxation of the sterically repulsive interaction around the solvated metal ions. The metal-oxygen (M-O) bond lengths of solvated metal ions in TMU are