In the title compound, [Ru(C(28)H(22)N(2)P)Cl(CO)(2)]·CH(2)Cl(2), the Ru(II) atom exhibits a distorted octa-hedral coordination geometry. The N-phenyl group of the ligand has undergone orthometalation; as a result, the tridentate phosphane-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene ligand is coordinating in a meridional fashion. This complex is of inter-est with respect to transfer hydrogenation catalysis and also provides an example of C-H activation behavior in late transition metal complexes. The dichloro-methane solvent mol-ecule is disordered over two sets of sites with an occupancy ratio of 0.873 (14):0.127 (14).