In the title coordination polymer, [Cd(C(9)H(6)O(4))(C(12)H(10)N(4))(H(2)O)](n), the Cd(II) atom has a NO(6) donor set and is coord-inated by five carboxyl-ate O atoms from three different 5-methyl-1,3-phenyl-enediacetate (pda(2-)) anions, one O atom from a water mol-ecule and one N atom from a 1,4-bis-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)benzene (L) ligand, displaying a highly distorted penta-gonal-bipyramidal geometry. Each pda(2-) anion acts as a μ(3)-bridge, linking Cd(II) atoms to form one-dimensional slabs extending parallel to [010]. In the crystal, adjacent mol-ecules are linked through N-H⋯N and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds into a three-dimensional network.