1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione (phendione) and its derivatives have wide applications inrnthe preparation of mono, bi and polynuclear complexes. It is the main starting materialrnfor the synthesis of materials having interesting optical and electrical properties. Some ofrnthem inhibit the growth of pathogenic fungous, typical material for hole blocking (HBL)rnand hole-blocking electron transporting layer (HBTEL) in phosphorescent organic lightrnemitting diode. The others have medicinal and biological values. In this research, tornextend the wide applications of metal complexes derived from phendione, nickel(II) andrnzinc(II) complexes were synthesized by template method from phendione and pphenylenediaminernin 2:1:2 ratio. Zn(II) complex was characterized using 1H NMR, 13CrnNMR, D2O exchange NMR, UV-Vis and other analytical methods. On the other hand,rnNi(II) complex was characterized by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS),rnchloride ion test, molar conductivity and magnetic susceptibility measurement. The AASrndata reveals 2:1 ligand to metal ratio for Zn(II) complex, and 1:1 ligand to metal ratio forrnNi(II). Molar conductivity shows Ni(II) complex is an electrolyte while Zn(II) complex isrna non-electrolyte. The molar magnetic susceptibility of Ni(II) complex is about 2.72 BMrnwhich indicates the complex has distorted octahedral geometry around the metal center.rnFrom NMR spectral analysis and results, Zn(II) complex has also distorted octahedralrngeometry in which the ligand binds to the metals through NNâ€™ of 1,10-phenanthroline-rn5,6-dione.rnKey words: 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione, p-phenylenediamine, template method,rnnickel(II) complex and Zn(II) complex.