Four new Ag(I)-N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes (5-8) bearing symmetrically substituted NHC ligands have been synthesized starting from the corresponding benzimidazolium bromide salts which are accessible in a single step from N-substituted benzimidazoles (N-alkyl and N-aryl) and subsequently reacted with the basic metal source Ag 2 O in acetonitrile-methanol. These compounds were characterized using elemental analyses, 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, Fourier transform infrared and UV-visible spectroscopic techniques, and molar conductivity. Single-crystal structural studies for complex 5 show that the Ag(I) centre has a perfectly linear C-Ag-C coordination, with quasi-parallel pairs of aromatic benzimidazole planes. All the complexes interact with Aedes albopictus DNA via intercalation mode by a large hypochromicity of 22 and 27% and smaller hypochromicity of 16 and 19%. Furthermore, all complexes exhibit efficient DNA cleavage activity via a nonoxidative mechanistic pathway. The DNase activities of the test compounds revealed a time-and concentration-dependent activity pattern. The Ag(I)-NHC complexes showed considerably higher DNA cleavage activity compared to their respective benzimidazolium salts at a lower concentration. The DNA cleavage of these complexes changed from a moderate effect to a good one, corresponding to the increasing lipophilicity order of the complexes as 5 < 6 < 7 < 8 (1.02, 1.05, 1.78 and 2.06 for 5-8, respectively). This order is further corroborated with the DNA binding study, but with the exception of complex 5, which shows a better binding ability for DNA (K b = 3.367 × 10 6 ) than complexes 6-8 (6.982 × 10 5 , 8.376 × 10 5 and 1.223 × 10 6 , respectively).