1,3,5-triaryl-2-pyrazolines are organic luminophores with arylic radicals that show a wide biological activity and are used as liquid scintillators and electro-optic materials. Experimental. Eleven 2-pyrazolines were synthesized from phenylhidrazine and chalcones of the 8-hydroxyquinoline series: 3-(8-hydroxyquinolin-5-yl)-1-(3-R)-phenylprop-2-enone and 1-(8-hydroxyquinolin-5-yl)-3--(3-R)-phenylprop-2-enone, where R = H, CH3, OCH3, N(CH3)2, Cl, Br, and NO2. The structures were confirmed by elemental analysis, IR, 1H-NMR, and electronic spectroscopy. Results and discussion. The 1- and 3-aryl substituents of the pyrazoline ring produced shifts to shorter or longer wavelengths, in absorbance and fluorescence. The electron acceptor hydroxyquinolinic fragment influenced the absorption and luminescence spectra; the possible cause of low quantum yields in pyrazolines (1-phenyl-3-(4-R phenyl)-5-(8-hydroxyquinolinil-5)-2-pyrazoline) may be the specific intramolecular fluorescence quenching in bicromophores, characteristic of 5-acceptor substituted pyrazolines, and, in series (1-phenyl-5-(4-R phenyl)-3-(8-hydroxyquinolinil-5)-2-pyrazoline) of excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) reactions, and the increasing donor-acceptor intramolecular interaction of their excited molecules; Density functional calculations (method PM6) were used to probe the electronic structure and energy ordering of the emissive and the electron-transfer states; PM6 results agreed with the experimental data. 1-phenyl-3-(4-R phenyl)-5-(8-hydroxyquinolinil-5)-2-pyrazoline showed fungistatic and fungicide activities. Additionally, all our pyrazolines showed wide theoretical biological activities.