A nickel(II) and a cobalt(III) complex of two different potentially tetradentate Schiff bases with different binding modes have been synthesised. The nickel(II) complex [NiL 1 ] Á CH 3 OH (1) was formed, on reacting the metal salt with a perfectly symmetrical N 2 O 2 tetradentate Schiff base ligand H 2 L 1 , which is the 1:2 condensation product of 1,3-diamino propane and 2-hydroxyacetophenone. The cobalt(III) complex [Co(HL 2 ) 3 ] Á (ClO 4 ) 3 Á H 2 O (2) was synthesised using an asymmetric N 2 O 2 tetradentate Schiff base ligand HL 2 on condensing N,N-dimethyl-1, 3-diamino propane with o-vanillin in 1:1 mmol ratio. Although both Schiff bases are N 2 O 2 functionalised, they showed variation in their coordinative property with nickel(II) and cobalt(III) ions. Both the complexes were characterised by IR spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry and their single crystal structures clearly indicate that 1 is a mononuclear species whereas 2 is a hydrogen-bonded dimer.