Schiff bases are synthesized from the condensation of aromatic/ aliphatic primary amines and aromatic/ aliphatic aldehydes and they have good chelating abilities with transition metals, lanthanides and actinides. Metal complexes derived from Schiff bases have attracted the attention of many researchers in recent years due to their wide range of biological applications. The presence of the azomethine group in Schiff bases, as well as its capability to coordinate to various metal ions, is crucial for their biological applications. The Schiff bases derived from various aromatic aldehydes and aromatic primary amines and their complexes with transition metals, lanthanides and actinides were studied and their biological applications were summarized from various reputed journals and discussed in this article.