The reactions of [RuCl 2 (PPh 3 ) 3 ] with 8-hydroxy-2-methyl-quinoline-7-carboxylic acid was examined, and a novel ruthenium(II) complex-[Ru(PPh 3 ) 2 (C 5 H 8 NO) 2 ]-was obtained. The compound was studied by IR, UV-vis spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography. The molecular orbital diagram of the complex was calculated with the density functional theory (DFT) method. The spin-allowed singletsinglet electronic transitions of the compound were calculated using the time-dependent DFT method, and the UV-vis spectrum of the compound was discussed, on this basis. The luminescence property of the [Ru(PPh 3 ) 2 (C 5 H 8 NO) 2 ]was examined.