The title compound, [Au(2)Cl(2)Fe(C(17)H(14)P)(2)], (I), contains the expected linear gold centres. The ferrocene moiety acts as a P, P'-bridging ligand, wherein the Fe atom lies on an inversion centre. The P-Au-Cl angle is 177.56 (8) degrees and bond distances Au-P and Au-Cl are 2.2261 (18) and 2.2781 (18) A, respectively. The structure is almost identical to that of the metal complex in (I).2CH(2)Cl(2) [Canales, Gimeno, Jones, Laguna & Sarroca (1997). Inorg. Chem. 36, 5206-5211], but differs considerably from that in 3(I).2CHCl(3) [Hill, Girard, McCabe, Johnson, Stupik, Zhang, Reiff & Eggleston (1989). Inorg. Chem. 28, 3529-3533], in that in the latter, the two independent molecules are linked by a short Au.Au contact.