The effect of several imidazolium-based ionic liquids on the mechanism of a classical ligand substitution reaction of [Pt(terpyridine)Cl](+) with thiourea was investigated. A detailed kinetic study as a function of the nucleophile concentration and temperature was undertaken under pseudo-first-order conditions using stopped-flow techniques. Polarity measurements were performed for the employed ionic liquids on the basis of solvatochromic effects, and they show similarities with conventional polar solvents. Density-functional theory calculations (RB3LYP/LANL2DZp) were employed to predict the ion-pair stabilization energy between the ionic components of the ionic liquids and/or between the anions of the ionic liquids and the cationic Pt-II complex. These data illustrate how the anions of the ionic liquids can affect the investigated substitution reaction. In general, the substitution mechanism in ionic liquids was found to have an associative character similar to that in conventional solvents. The observed deviations reflect the influence of the ionic liquid on the interaction between the anionic component of the liquid and the positively charged complex.