Constructing novel metal-arene complexes containing bioactive natural-product derived ligands is an important approach to further drug design.Herein,we reported two novel ruthenium(Ⅱ)-arene complexes(Fig.)with a 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid-modified ligand,which is an active species of traditional Chinese medicine with widespread pharmacological properties,including antiviral,antibacterial and anticancer activities.