Ethyl acetoacetate react with phenyl hydrazine in the presence of acid was gave ethyl-3-(2- phenylhydrazono)butanoate (EP), which was characterized by elemental analysis and spectral studies. The transition metal chelates viz. Cu2+, Ni2+ , Co2+ , Mn2+ and Zn2+ of EP were prepared and characterized by metalligand (M:L) ratio, IR and reflectance spectroscopies and magnetic properties. The antifungal activity of EP and its metal chelates was screened against various fungi. The results show that all these samples are good antifungal agents.