Ru L 3 -edge time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy (TR-XAS) was applied to unravel photo-induced excited state dynamics of solvated [Ru(m-bpy) 3 ] 2+ (m-bpy = 6-methyl-2,2 0 -bipyridine) complex. The Ru L 3 -edge probes 2p core-level transitions, enabling to monitor the electronic structure of excited 3 dd state. TR-XAS and time-dependent density functional theory were utilized to directly visualize the charge density of 3 dd state around the Ru atom during the relaxation cascade of [Ru(m-bpy) 3 ] 2+ complex. The formation of 3 dd state is attributed to the reduced effective ligand field strength, which was derived from the TR-XAS of 3 dd state at 100 ps. These results highlight the role of ligand-field 3 dd state in the photoinduced relaxation dynamics of [Ru(m-bpy) 3 ] 2+ complex.