Transition metal complexes of hydrazides have been intensely investigated by coordination chemists because of their interesting structural properties and their wide ranging applications 1-5. Aliphatic carboxylic acid hydrazides among many other uses are employed as metal ion removal from waste waters 6 , aromatic hydrazides are used as stabilizers for rigid PVC against therm-oxidative degradation 7. Hydrazides are also used for the extraction of non-ferrous metals and rare earth from aqueous solutions 8-10,11. The coordinating ability of hydrazides to a variety of elements particularly transition metals afford the study of the metals in such systems. In continuation of our studies on alkyl acetoacetate hydrazides 12,13 we present the results of our investigations on the synthesis, spectral and the theoretical studies of Co(II) and Cu(II) complexes of acetoacetic acid hydrazide. The complexes are new and represent the first systematic study of acetoacetic acid hydrazide series. EXPERIMENTAL Reagents grade cobalt(II) acetate tetrahydrate, cobalt(II) chloride hexahydrate, cobalt(II) sulphate heptahydrate, copper(II) acetate monohydrate, copper(II) chloride dihydrate, copper(II) sulphate pentahydrate, copper(II) nitrate pentahydrate, ethylacetoacetate, hydrazine hydrate, methanol were available from BDH.