A method for the spectrophotometric determination of cobalt(II) is presented, with a comparison of the binary complexes formed by cobalt(II) with di-2-pyridyl ketone nicotinoylhydrazone (DPKNH), di-2-pyridyl ketone 2-thiophenoylhydrazone (DPKTH) and di-2-pyridyl ketone benzoylhydrazone (DPKBH) in 50% (v/v) ethanolic solution. Cobalt(II) forms 1:2 complexes with the three reagents. Maximum absorbance is at 372 nm for Co(II)-DPKNH, at 389 nm for Co(II)-DPKTH and at 370 nm for Co(II)-DPKBH. Ranges of linearity, effects of pH and excess reagent, sensitivity, stability of the complexes and tolerance limits of ions are reported. It was concluded that the system with DPKTH is the best, followed by DPKNH and then DPKBH. The method was applied to the determination of cobalt in different alloys.