Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)The spin correlations and excitations of the Sr2YRuO6 double perovskite are investigated by means of Raman scattering, complemented by synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements. Anomalous softening of a breathing mode of the oxygen octahedra is observed below similar to 200K, much above the long-range antiferromagnetic ordering temperature, T-N1=32K, due to a spin-phonon coupling mechanism in the presence of magnetic correlations. A diffusive Raman signal is also observed, possibly associated with spin excitations within magnetically correlated regions. Our results point to a characteristic energy and temperature scale of similar to 25meV/200K below which unusual behavior associated with magnetic correlations is observed in this material. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.452193196Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)