Transition-metal complexes possess a variety of advantages that make them suitable as therapeutics and probes for biomolecules. It is thus highly desirable to develop new metal complexes that either interact with DNA through different binding modes or target alternative cellular machinery such as proteins as well as to provide a more effective means of monitoring disease progression. Herein, two new complexes based on FeCl3 metal salt and 1,10- phenanthroline, Acetone and acetamide ligands having the formulae:[Fe(phen)2(Ac)2]Cl3.H2O and [Fe(phen)2(Ac)(Acet)]Cl3.2H2O (Ac=acetone, Acet= acetamide) were synthesized by stoichiometric high dilution method. The results of structural analyses from various analytical, conductance and spectroscopic techniques, particularly using UV-Vis, FT-IR, and ICP-OES reveal that both complexes assumed octahedral geometry. Furthermore, the In vitro antibacterial activities of the ligands, salt, and metal complexes were tested on four pathogenic bacteria (Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and streptococcus pyogenis (S.pyogenis) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli (E. C``oli) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) by the disc diffusion method. It is interesting to note that the newly synthesized complexes are active against all the tested bacteria. The comparative study of complexes with gentamycin showed improved activities on Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) streptococcus pyogenis (S.pyogenis) and on Gram-negative (Escherichia coli (E. C``oli) compared to acetone, acetamide and FeCl3 but less than 1, 10-phenanthroline. After in vivo cytotoxicity investigations, the complexes can be considered alternative antibacterial agents. Key word: 1, 10-phenanthroline, iron