The full mol-ecule of the binuclear title compound, [Cd2Cl2(C6H8O4)(C6H8N2)2(H2O)2], is generated by the application of a centre of inversion located at the middle of the central CH2-CH2 bond of the adipate dianion; the latter chelates a CdII atom at each end. Along with two carboxyl-ate-O atoms, the CdII ion is coordinated by the two N atoms of the chelating benzene-1,2-di-amine ligand, a Cl- anion and an aqua ligand to define a distorted octa-hedral CdClN2O3 coordination geometry with the monodentate ligands being mutually cis. The disparity in the Cd-N bond lengths is related to the relative trans effect exerted by the Cd-O bonds formed by the carboxyl-ate-O and aqua-O atoms. The packing features water-O-H⋯O(carboxyl-ate) and benzene-1,2-di-amine-N-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds, leading to layers that stack along the a-axis direction. The lack of directional inter-actions between the layers is confirmed by a Hirshfeld surface analysis.