By the solvothermal reactions of a [1,1':3',1''-terphenyl]-3,3'',5,5''-tetracar -boxylic acid (H 4 tpta) with transition metal ions, three novel polymeric complexes, namely,(3) have been isolated. The heterometallic clusters of these polymeric complexes are dimeric and tetrameric, respectively. 1 is comprised of dimeric paddle wheel Ni(II) units to generate a 2D structure.In complexes 2 and 3, metal ions form tetrameric units that extend via all dimensions to give 3D structures with the Schläfli symbol of (4 3 )(4 3 )(4 6 ·6 18 ·8 4 ) and (4 6 )(4 12 ·5 3 ·6 9 ·7 4 ), respectively. The results of variable temperature magnetization measurements (χ M T-T and χ M −1 -T) show that complexes 1 and 2 display unusual ferromagnetic coupling via the M-O-C-O-M bridges, while complex 3 shows predominantly antiferromagnetic behavior. The M(H) curve of 1 does not saturate until the highest field of 80 kOe, indicating the significant magnetic anisotropy in this complex system, whereas the final saturation value of 2.79 Nβ for 2 manifests the existence of typically paramagnetic property and the absence of long-range magnetic ordering. The dynamic magnetization experiments have been also carried out to further explore the magnetic behaviors of 1 and 2. There are no frequency dependences in the dynamic magnetization experiments, suggesting the absence of slow magnetic relaxation of these two complexes.