The polymeric title complex, [Co(C(8)H(8)O(5))(H(2)O)(2)](n) was synthesized by reaction of cobalt acetate with 7-oxabicyclo-[2,2,1]heptane-2,3-dicarb-oxy-lic anhydride. The Co(II) ion is six-coordinated in a distorted octa-hedral environment, binding to two water O atoms, to the ether O atom of the bicyclo-heptane unit, to two carboxyl-ate O atoms from two different carboxyl-ate groups of the same anion and to one carboxyl-ate O atom from a symmetry-related anion. The bridging character of the dianion leads to the formation of ribbons along [001]. The ribbons are linked into a layered network parallel to (010) by several O-H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter-actions involving the coordinating water mol-ecules as donors and the carboxyl-ate O atoms of neighbouring ribbons as acceptors. The crystal under investigation was an inversion twin.