Six new gold(III) complexes [Au(bzpam)Cl2] (1, bzpamH = N‐benzyl picolinamide), [Au(hetpam)Cl2] (2, hetpamH = N‐(2‐hydroxyethyl) picolinamide), [Au(pypam)Cl]AuCl4 (3, pypamH = N‐(pyridin‐2‐ylmethyl) picolinamide), [Au(dmepam)Cl]AuCl4 (4, dmepamH = N‐(2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl) picolinamide), [Au(bhetpydam)Cl] (5, bhetpydamH2 = N,N′‐bis(2‐hydroxyethyl) pyridine‐ 2,6‐dicarboxamide) and [Au2(hedam)Cl4] (6, hedamH2 = N,N′‐(hexane‐1,6‐diyl) dipicolinamide) with deprotonated pyridyl carboxamide were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductivity, IR, H1 NMR and C13 NMR techniques. The analytical data showed that deprotonated pyridyl carboxamide coordinated with gold(III) ions through a nitrogen atom. The cytotoxicity against Bel‐7402 and HL‐60 cell lines was tested by MTT (3‐(4,5‐Dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide) and SRB (sulforhodamine B) assays. The results indicated that the complexes exerted cytotoxic effects against Bel‐7402 and HL‐60 cell lines, complex 6 had better cytotoxicity than cisplatin, and complex 3 displayed similar cytotoxicity to cisplatin against Bel‐7402 cell line. The results suggested that the characteristics of ligands had an important effect on cytotoxicity of complexes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.