A new fluorescence receptor (E)‐2‐amino‐N′‐((3‐hydroxy‐5‐(hydroxymethyl)‐2‐methylpyridin‐4‐yl)methylene)benzohydrazide (1) was synthesized by reacting vitamin B6 cofactor pyridoxal with 2‐aminobenzohydrazide, and characterized by various spectral (FT‐IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and ESI‐MS) data. It shows high selectivity and sensitivity towards Zn2+ and CN− ions among the other tested metal ions (Cu2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Mn2+, Mg2+, Fe3+, Fe2+, Cd2+, Hg2+, Pb2+, Al3+ and Cr3+) and anions (F−, Cl−, Br−, I−, NO3−, N3−, HSO4−, H2PO4−, ClO4− and AcO−). With the addition of Zn2+ and CN−, the receptor 1 displays a drastic fluorescence enhancement around 475–480 nm without any interference from other tested cations/anions. Receptor 1 shows the detection limit down to 3.20 ×10−7 M and 1.53×10−7 M for Zn2+ and CN− ions, respectively. In addition, the receptor 1 shows selective response towards CN− by giving a new absorption band around 431 nm. The recognition mechanism was proposed through 1H NMR and DFT results. Finally, the receptor 1 was applied for the detection of bioactive Zn2+ ions in live HeLa cells.