Abstract The influence of a frequency on the relative permittivity e ′ Γ as well as the AC conductivity of metal alginate complexes (Ba 2+ , Sr 2+ , Pb 2+ , Cd 2+ or Zn 2+ ions) as a function of temperature has been investigated.The average values of the activation energy obtained from the experimental data indicate that the electrical properties of the complexes under investigation are similar to those of semiconducting materials. The values of relative permittivity e ′ Γ increase with temperature until a maximum value designated by γ-relaxation is obtained. The appearance of β-relaxation as a small shoulder is discussed in terms of the movement of the side groups and the small units of the main chain which in turns allows the orientation of dipolar units in the applied electric field.