In the polymeric title complex, [CdCl(2)(C(12)H(13)N(5))](n), the Cd(II) atom is five-coordinated by two N atoms from two bridging 1-[(2-ethyl-1H-imidazol-1-yl)meth-yl]-1H-benzotriazole (bmei) ligands, two bridging Cl atoms and one terminal Cl atom in a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal geometry. The Cd(II) atoms are connected alternately by the Cl atoms and bmei ligands, leading to a zigzag chain extending parallel to [011]. π-π inter-actions, with a centroid-centroid distance of 3.3016 (3) Å, help to stabilize the crystal packing.