Two new complexes of Zn(II) and Cd(II) with acetate and nicotinamide as mixed ligands were synthesized and characterized. The Zn(II) complex is mononuclear, [Zn(ac)2(NA)2] (1), while the Cd(II) is a dinuclear one, [Cd2(ac)4(NA)4].2H2O (2), where ac = acetate and NA = nicotinamide. The compounds were characterized by means of single-crystal X-ray diffraction, FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR spectroscopy, thermal analysis and elemental analysis. The geometry of the metal ion is distorted tetrahedral for Zn(II) and distorted pentagonal bipyramid geometry for Cd(II). In the dinuclear complex, each metal ion is coordinated by three acetate groups, but there are two different types of coordination modes for the acetate ligands: bidentate chelating and bridging bidentate chelating.