Let Γ = Γ(V, E) be a simple connected graph, where V and E represent the set of vertices and edges respectively. The distance between a vertex z and an edge ε = pq, denoted by d(z, ε), is defined as d(z, ε) = min{d(p, z), d(q, z)}, where d(p, z) represents the length of a shortest p−z path in Γ. A subset Y e ⊆ V of ordered distinct vertices is refer to be an edge resolving set (ERS) for Γ, if for any pair of different edges ε 1 and ε 2 in E, we have d(z, ε 2 ) = d(z, ε 1 ) for at least one vertex z in Y e . An edge metric basis for Γ is the ERS with the smallest cardinality and this smallest cardinality is called the edge metric dimension (EMD) of Γ, represented by dim e (Γ). A molecular (chemical) graph is a simple connected graph, where the vertices represent the compound's atoms and the edges represent bonds between the atoms. In this paper, we determine the edge metric basis and EMD of the complex molecular graph of a one-heptagonal carbon nanocone (HCN 7 (q)). We prove that only three non-adjacent vertices are the minimum requirement for the identification of all the edges in HCN 7 (q), uniquely.INDEX TERMS Connected graph, edge metric basis, edge metric dimension, independent set, oneheptagonal carbon nanocone, resolving set.