Magnesium(II), calcium(II), strontium(II) and barium(II) complexes of the type [MLL¢(H2O)2] (where HL = 5-bromosalicylaldehyde and HL¢ = pentane-2,4-dione, 1-phenylbutane-1,3-dione or 1,3-diphenylpropane-1,3-dione) have been synthesized by 1:1:1 molar reactions of metal chlorides with 5-bromosalicylaldehyde and b-diketones. The resulting complexes have been characterized by elemental analyses, TLC, IR and ¹H NMR spectra