The title racemic complex, bis[mu-N-(2-oxidobenzylidene)-D,L-glutamato(2-)]bis[(isoquinoline)copper(II)] ethanol disolvate, [Cu(2)(C(12)H(11)NO(5))(2)(C(9)H(7)N)(2)].2C(2)H(6)O, adopts a square-pyramidal Cu(II) coordination mode with a tridentate N-salicylideneglutamato Schiff base dianion and an isoquinoline ligand bound in the basal plane. The apex of the pyramid is occupied by a phenolic O atom from the adjacent chelate molecule at an apical distance of 2.487 (3) A, building a dimer located on the crystallographic inversion center. The Cu...Cu spacing within the dimers is 3.3264 (12) A. The ethanol solvent molecules are hydrogen bonded to the dimeric complex molecules, forming infinite chains in the a direction. The biological activity of the title complex has been studied.