Complex formation between Cd" and 3-aminopropane-I -thiol has been studied b y means of nearly 425 e.m.f. measurements w i t h a glass electrode in 10 separate titrations at 25 "C in 3 mol dm-3 (sodium) perchlorate medium [+I O%(v/v) CH,OH]. Conclusions drawn from graphical methods based on the 'core + links' hypothesis and on the 'extended variation' technique are in accord with results obtained from the numerical treatment. Experimental data for 3 < -log [ H ' 3 < 11 can be explained b y assuming that the following complexes predominate over a wide p H range: [Cd( HA),I2+, [Cd,( HA),I6+, [Cd,( HA),],+, and [Cd,(HA),,]'O+, H A being the uncharged ligand. The deprotonation of these species gives rise to several mono-and poly-nuclear ternary complexes CdpAqHr, r < q, A denoting the deprotonated form of the ligand. Chelate formation seems very likely. Comparisons with other cadmium( 11)-mercaptoamine systems are made.The renewed interest in the chemistry of metal thiolate complexes is mainly due to the important role of the thiol group of the cysteinyl residues in metalloproteins' in co-ordinating metal atoms. Recent review^^.^ show that the amount of experimental data related to the structural features of those complexes has increased very much in the past years. While topological relationships have been proposed for several metal thiolate complexes4 and also new synthetic strategies have been developed,' it is still difficult to predict the stoicheiometry and the geometry of a complex with a given metal: thiol molar ratio.Solution equilibria studies of metal-thiol systems should help to make accurate predictions but they are practically impossible in aqueous solutions unless the problem of the low solubility of metal thiolates is overcome. The introduction of a non-co-ordinating solubilizing group in the thiol molecule led us in the past to choose y-mercaptoamines as models for the behaviour of simple thiol ligands. The stability constants of the complexes formed between 4-mercapto-1-methylpiperidine and Zn116 and Cd117 as well as the crystal and molecular structures of several solid complexes of Zn11,8 Cd'I,' and Hg" with different y-mercaptoamine ligands have been reported.In this paper we report the stability constants of the soluble complexes found potentiometrically while in the system cadmium(11)-3-aminopropane-1-thiol in water-methanol (9: 1 v/v). The results obtained are compared with those with 4-mercapto-1 -methylpiperidine' and with 2-aminoethane-1thiol.'