The complex [Ag(bebt)(cinnamate)] [bebt = 1,3-bis(1-ethylbenzimidazol-2-yl)-2-thiapropane], has been synthesised and characterised by physico-chemical and spectroscopic methods. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction revealed that the coordination environment of the Ag(I) complex can be described as trigonal planar, and the Ag(I) atom is coordinated by one oxygen atom from a cinnamate anion and two nitrogen atoms from ligand bebt. Experimental studies of the DNA-binding properties indicated that the free ligand and the complex bind to DNA via the intercalation mode, and the binding affinity of the complex was found to be greater than that of just bebt.