In the crystal of the title complex, [Co(C(9)H(6)NO)(3)].C(2)H(5)OH, the central Co atom has a distorted octahedral coordination comprised of three N atoms and three O atoms from the three 8-quinolinolato ligands. The three Co-O bond distances are in the range 1.887 (2)-1.910 (2) A, while the three Co-N bond distances range from 1.919 (2) to 1.934 (2) A. The solvent ethanol molecule forms an intermolecular O-H.O hydrogen bonding with a quinolinolato ligand.