The Cu(II) ion in the title complex, [Cu(C5H10NO3)2] or [Cu(He-ala)2] [He-ala = N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-beta-alaninate], resides at the inversion centre of a square bipyramid comprised of two facially arranged tridentate He-ala ligands. Each He-ala ligand binds to a Cu(II) ion by forming one six-membered beta-alaninate chelate ring in a twist conformation and one five-membered ethanolamine ring in an envelope conformation, with Cu-N = 2.017 (2) angstroms, Cu-O(COO) = 1.968 (1) angstroms and Cu-O(OH) = 2.473 (2) angstroms. The [Cu(He-ala)2] molecules are involved in a network of O-H...O and N-H...O hydrogen bonds, forming layers parallel to the (10-1) plane. The layers are connected into a three-dimensional structure by van der Waals interactions, so that the molecular centres form pseudo-face-centered close packing.