Three new coordination polymers [Zn(pda)(H2O)](n) (1), [Ni(pda)(bib)(1.5)](n) (2) and [Mn-2(pda)(2)(bimb)](n) (3) [H(2)pda = 3,4'-biphenyl-dicarboxylic acid, bib = 4,4'-bis (2-imidazol-1-ylmethyl) biphenyl and bmib = 4,4'-bis (2-methylimidazol-1-ylmethyl)biphenyl] have been synthesized and structurally characterized by elemental analysis, IR and X-ray diffraction. Single-crystal X-ray analyses revealed that that pda ligand acts as bridging ligand, exhibiting rich coordination modes to link metal ions: monodentate, bidentate chelating, bis-monodentate and chelating/bridging fashions. Compound 1 and 2 demonstrate a one-dimensional chain. Compound 3 is a two-dimensional (4,4) layer structure. Furthermore, the solid state luminescence spectrum of compound 1 is investigated at room temperature.