Novel Schiff base ligand of type [H2L] was prepared by the condensation of acetoacetanilide with nicotinic hydrazide. The metal complexes of Co+2, Ni+2, Cu+2, Mn+2and Zn+2 were characterized and investigated by physical and spectral techniques, namely, elemental analysis, melting point, conductivity, 1H NMR, IR, UV-Vis spectra, ESR, as well as x-ray diffraction, TEM and photo catalytic activity under UV visible irradiation were performed. They were further analyzed by thermal technique (TGA/DTA) to gain better insight about the thermal stability and kinetic properties of the complexes. Thermal data revealed high thermal stability and nonspontaneous nature of the decomposition steps. The molar conductance values were relatively low, showing their non-electrolytic nature. To study the cytotoxicity of the ligand and some of its metal complexes against human liver cancer cell (HePG-2 cell line). The cells were dosed with the complexes at varying concentrations and cell viability was measured by sulfo-rhodamine-B stain (SRB) method. The compounds show marked antiproliferative effect compared with a standard drug (vinblastine).