In the title coordination polymer, {[Zn(C(11)H(15)O(3))(2)(C(10)H(8)N(2))(C(11)H(16)O(3))]·H(2)O}(n), the Zn(II) ion is five coordinated by two N atoms from two 4,4'-bipyridine (4,4'-bpy) mol-ecules and three O atoms from two 3-hy-droxy-adamantane-1-carboxyl-ate anions (L) and one 3-hy-droxy-adamantane-1-carb-oxy-lic acid (HL) mol-ecule. The resulting coordination polyhedron is a near regular ZnN(2)O(3) trigonal bipyramid, with the N atoms in axial sites. The 4,4'-bpy mol-ecules [dihedral angle between the aromatic rings = 17.2 (2)°] act as bridges, connecting the metal ions into an infinite polymeric chain propagating in [[Formula: see text]01]. O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds help to consolidate the packing.