Two new lanthanide complexes, [Eu 2 (Pht) 2 (HPht) 2 (Phen) 2 (H 2 O) 4 ] (1) and H 4 COO) 3 (H 2 O) 2 ] n (2) (where Pht 2-=dianion of o-phthalic acid, HPht -=mono-anion of o-phthalic acid, Phen=1,10-phenanthroline, 3-CNC 6 H 4 COO=3-cyanobenzoate) have been synthesized and their crystal structures were determined by X-ray crystallography. The result shows that 1,3-dicyanobenzene was hydrolyzed to give 3-cyanobenzoate under the hydrothermal condition. The compound 2 forms a one-dimensional coordination polymer, whereas the compound 1 is a dimer. The title complex 1 crystallizes in the triclinic system, space group 1 P , with lattice parameters a= 1.01048(6) nm, b=1.06755 (7) been studied with excitation and emission spectra, which exhibits strong red emission.