A study of complex formation of Zn -octaethylporphyrin and its mono-, di-, tri- and tetra-nitro meso-substituted derivatives towards propylamine, 1,3-diaminopropane, 2-(4-imidazolyl)-ethylamine and 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane was carried out by UV-vis titration method and 1 H NMR. It has been determined that the nitro-substituted porphyrin receptors form with 1,3-diaminopropane and 2-(4-imidazolyl)-ethylamine 1:1 complexes with two points of binding. Individual contributions of a donor–acceptor interactions and a hydrogen bonding into a total energy of the complexes formation have been estimated. It has been shown that due to a good geometric match between the host–guest molecules the tetra-nitro substituted Zn -porphyrin has maximum binding ability towards the 1,3-diaminopropane, and the tri-nitro substituted Zn -porphyrin effectively binds the 2-(4-imidazolyl)-ethylamine.