Theoretical calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) were performed to study the substituent effect on the geometric and electronic structures as well as the biological behavior of technetium-99m-labeled diphosphonate complexes. Optimized structures of these complexes are surrounded by six ligands in an octahedral environment with three unpaired 4d electrons ($d^3$ state) and the optimized geometry of $^{99m}Tc$-MDP agrees with experimental data. With the increase of electron-donating substituent or tether between phosphate groups, the energy gap between frontier orbitals increases and the probability of non-radiative deactivation via d-d electron transfer decreases. The charge distribution reflects a significant ligand-to-metal electron donation. Based on the calculated geometric and electronic structures and biologic properties of $^{99m}Tc$-diphosphonate complexes, several structure-activity relationships (SARs) were established. These results may be instructive for the design and synthesis of novel $^{99m}Tc$-diphosphonate bone imaging agent and other $^{99m}Tc$-based radiopharmaceuticals.