The extraction complexes of Pu(IV) with -octyl(phenyl)-N,N-diisobutyl-methylcarbamoyl phosphine oxide (CMPO) and diphenyl-N,N-diisobutyl carbamoyl phosphine oxide (Ph 2 CMPO) have been studied by using density functional theory (DFT) combined with relativistic small-core pseudopotentials. For most complexes, the CMPO and Ph 2 CMPO molecules are coordinated as bidentate chelating ligands through the carbonyl oxygen and phosphoric oxygen atoms. The metal-ligand bonding is mainly ionic for all of these complexes. The neutral PuL(NO 3 ) 4 and PuL 2 (NO 3 ) 4 complexes are predicted to be the most thermodynamically stable molecules according to the metal-ligand complexation reactions. In addition, hydration energies may also play a significant role in the extractability of CMPO and Ph 2 CMPO for the plutonium cations. In most cases, the complexes with CMPO possess qualitatively similar geometries and electron structures to those with Ph 2 CMPO, and they also have comparable metal-ligand binding energies. Thus, replacement of alkyl groups by phenyl groups at the phosphorus atom of CMPO seems to have no obvious influence on the extraction of Pu(IV).