The title Cu(II) complex, [CuBr(2)(C(21)H(15)N(3))]·0.5H(2)O, was obtained by the hydro-thermal reaction of copper(II) bromide, 4'-phenyl-2,2':6',2''-terpyridyl (4'-Ph-terpy or L) and sodium citrate in water in 31% yield. There are two unique complex mol-ecules and a water mol-ecule in the asymmetric unit. The Cu(II) cation is ligated by three N atoms of L and two bromide anions, forming an irregular CuN(3)Br(2) polyhedron with a distorted square-pyramidal coordination geometry. In the crystal structure, O-H⋯Br hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules in a three-dimensional network.