Abstract The reaction of Me2SnCl2 with dithizone or thiosemicarbazide produced two novel di-organotin derivatives in good yields, which were characterized by X-ray diffraction. The crystal structures show that the compounds present a distorted pentacoordinated tin(IV) metal center. The antimicrobial activity of the new compounds was studied against Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Salmonella enteritidis) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria, and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It was observed that the coordination of tin metal has a pronounced effect on the microbial activities of the ligands. All the tin complexes have shown higher antimicrobial effect than the free ligands. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT