Novel 2-oxo-1,2-dihydroquinoline-3-carbaldehyde (4'-methylbenzoyl) hydrazone (H(2)L) (1) and its two copper(II) complexes have been synthesized. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the structure of the new copper(II) chloride complex, [Cu(H(2)L)Cl(2)]·2H(2)O (2), is square pyramidal and that of the copper(II) nitrate complex, [Cu(HL)NO(3)]·DMF (3), is square planar. In 2, the copper atom is coordinated by the ligand with ONO donor atoms, one chloride ion in the apical position, and the other chloride in the basal plane. In 3, the ligand coordinates as a uninegative tridentate ONO(-) species and with one nitrate ion in the basal plane. DNA binding experiments indicated that the ligand and copper(II) complexes can interact with DNA through intercalation. Bovine serum albumin binding studies revealed that the compounds strongly quench the intrinsic fluorescence of bovine serum albumin through a static quenching process. Antioxidative activity tests showed that 1 and its copper(II) complexes have significant radical scavenging activity against free radicals. Cytotoxic activities of the ligand and copper(II) complexes showed that the two copper(II) complexes exhibited more effective cytotoxic activity against HeLa and HEp-2 cells than the corresponding ligand. The entire biological activity results showed that the activity order was 1 < 2 < 3.