[Ag2(NH3)2(salH)2] (salH2 ¼salicylic acid) was synthesised from salicylic acid and Ag2O in concentrated aqueous NH3 and the dimeric Ag(I) complex was characterised using X-ray crystallography. The complex is centrosymmetric with each metal coordinated to a salicylate carboxylate oxygen and to an ammonia nitrogen atom in an almost linear fashion. The two [Ag(NH3)(salH)] units in the complex are linked by an Ag–Ag bond. Whilst metal-free salH2 did not prevent the growth of the fungal pathogen Candida albicans [Ag2(NH3)2(salH)2], [Ag2(salH)2] and some simple Ag(I) salts greatly inhibited cell reproduction. SalH2, [Ag2(NH3)2(salH)2] [Ag2(salH)2] and AgClO4 produced a dose-dependent cytotoxic response against the three human derived cancer cell lines, Cal-27, Hep-G2 and A-498, with the Ag(I)-containing reagents being the most effective.