In the title compound, [Pd(C(8)H(10)N)(C(2)H(8)N(2))](C(9)H(9)O(2)), the palladium ion is coordinated in a distorted square-planar fashion by the two N atoms from the chelating ethyl-enediamine group and by the N and a C atom of the deprotonated chiral amine. The resulting cationic complex and the 3,5-dimethyl-benzoate anion are inter-connected by N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.