In the title dinuclear Cu(II) complex, [Cu(2)(C(7)H(3)NO(4))(2)(C(12)H(10)N(2))(H(2)O)(2)]·2H(2)O, the water-coordinated Cu(II) cation is O,N,O'-chelated by a pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ate (pdc) dianion, and one pyridine N atom from a 1,2-bis-(4-pyrid-yl)ethene ligand coordinates to the Cu(II) cation, completing the CuN(2)O(3) distorted square-pyriamidial geometry. The Cu-O(water) bond [2.388 (4) Å] in the axial direction is much longer than the other Cu-O bonds. The 1,2-bis-(4-pyrid-yl)ethene ligand is located across an inversion center with the mid-point of the C=C bond at the inversion center, and bridges two Cu(II) cations, generating a centrosymmetric dinuclear complex. The crystal structure is stabilized by classical O-H⋯O and weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.