The synthesis of two novel Schiff base ligands viz. 4-[N-(3-methoxyphenylmethanamine)formyl]-2,3-dimethyl-1-phenyl-3-pyazolin-5-one (3MPMAFA) and 4-[N-(4-methoxyphenylmethanamine)formyl]-2,3-dimethyl-1-phenyl-3-pyazolin-5-one (4MPMAFA) was undertaken with the aim of synthesizing a total of 14 novel lanthanide(III) complexes. The synthesized ligands and its lanthanide(III) complexes were characterized by various analytical techniques such as elemental analysis, molecular mass, molar conductance, magnetic moment, FTIR, UV-visible and 13C NMR spectral data. According to the physico-chemical data, both Schiff bases (3MPMAFA and 4MPMAFA) appear as a neutral bidentate ligand coordinated through azomethine nitrogen and carbonyl oxygen atom. With a tentative monocapped octahedral geometry and coordination number seven, all the complexes have the same general formula, [ML2(NO3)3] (where M = La(III), Pr(III), Nd(III), Sm(III), Gd(III), Dy(III), Yb(III) and L = 3MPMAFA/4MPMAFA). The ligands and their Ln(III) complexes were evaluated for their biological activities revealing that all the lanthanide(III) complexes exhibited superior antibacterial capabilities compared to the ligands.