Two series of SAHA-liked hydroxamate analogues were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their biological activities against nuclear HDACs. Compounds of Series I were found to be very effective inhibitors of cancer cell growth in the PC-3, Hut78, K562 and Jurkat E6-1 cancer cell lines with mean $IC_{50}$ values from $0.54{mu}M$ (Ic, Jurkat E6-1) to $7.73{mu}M$ (Ib, K562), indicating that they are cell permeable and the benzimidazolyl-based ligands are flexible enough to occupy the binding site of HDAC.