A series of 5-[1-(arylimino)methyl]quinaldine-8-ol derivatives L1-L5 and their trinuclear zinc(II) complexes (C1-C5) were synthesized. The compounds L1-L5 were fully characterized by the FT-IR spectra, NMR measurement and elemental analysis, meanwhile the zinc complexes C1-C5 were characterized by the FT-IR spectra and elemental analysis as well as the single crystal X-ray diffraction of a representative complex C3, which revealed a trinuclear zinc complex bearing six organic ligands. The fluorescent properties of both organic compounds and the zinc complexes have been carefully investigated by the UV-Vis absorption in various solvents, indicating the significant influences of the solvents and also double exponential decays.