In the mononuclear title compound, [Cu(II)(C(18)H(12)N(2)O(2))(C(5)H(5)N)], the Cu(II) ion is coordinated by two O atoms and one N atom from the dianionic tridentate L(2-) ligand (H(2)L is 2-hy-droxy-1-naphthaldehyde benzoyl-hydrazide) and one N atom from a pyridine mol-ecule in a CuN(2)O(2) distorted square-planar coordination environment.