Thirty-one samples of 3,4′/4,3′-disubstituted benzylideneanilines (XBAY) with specified UV-Vis absorption maximum wavelength (λmax) were designed and synthesized by applying the equation (Eqn [νmax=32119]) which was abstracted from the UV-Vis absorption maximum wavelength energy (νmax = 1/λmax) of 4,4′-disubstituted benzylideneanilines. Then, the UV-Vis data (λmax) of the designed compounds were measured in anhydrous ethanol. The predicted UV-Vis data of designed compounds are in agreement with the experimental ones, in which the mean absolute error is 2.9 nm. The results show that Eqn [νmax=32119] is applicative for the prediction of UV-Vis absorption λmax values of both 4,4′-disubstituted benzylideneanilines and 3,4′/4,3′-disubstituted benzylideneanilines. For a same pair of groups (X and Y), one can at least get four disubstituted benzylideneaniline compounds which have different λmax values. It perhaps provides a convenient method to design an optical material for benzylideneaniline compounds. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]