Reactions of 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid (H2phenda) with Bi(NO3)3·5H2O or Ce(NO3)3·6H2O under solvothermal conditions yielded two new coordination complexes Bi(NO3)2(phenda)2(H2O)3 (1) and [Ce(SO4)(phenda)2(H2O)6](H2O)2 (2). The structures of the two complexes have been elucidated via elemental analyses and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The results show that complex 1 is a discrete binuclear structure based on two seven-coordinated Bi(III) ions while complex 2 is a 1D v-shape chain structure based on two nine-coordinated Ce(III) ions. Furthermore, the anti-lung cancer activity of the complexes has been evaluated via the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]