Novel organic dyes 4 and 5 containing 2-(10-oxophenanthren-9(10H)-ylidene)malononitrile and triphenylamine (or N,N-bis(4-butylphenyl)aniline) moieties as an electron acceptor and an electron donor, respectively, were designed and synthesized. The photophysical and electrochemical properties of these dyes and their precursors were investigated by UV-VIS spectroscopy, fluorescence emission spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and DFT calculation. The dyes 4 and 5 exhibited good absorption bands and emission bands in the UV-VIS region. The maximum absorption wavelengths were 581 and 605 nm, and the maximum emission wavelengths were 442 nm and 472 nm, respectively. Compared with the effect of malononitrile on HOMO energy levels, the introduction of malononitrile group had more impact on LUMO energy levels.