  We investigate the excitation mechanisms of near-infrared [Fe ii] and H2
emission lines observed in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs). We built a
photoionization model grid considering a two-component continuum, one accounts
for the Big Bump component peaking at 1Ryd and another represents the X-ray
source that dominates the continuum emission at high energies. Photoionization
models considering as ionizing source a spectral energy distribution obtained
from photometric data of the Sy 2 Mrk 1066 taken from the literature were
considered. Results of these models were compared with a large sample of
observational long-slit and Integral field Unit (IFU) spectroscopy data of the
nuclear region for a sample of active objects. We found that the correlation
between the observational [Fe ii]{\lambda}1.2570 {\mu}m/Pa{\beta} vs.
H2{\lambda}2.1218 {\mu}m/Br{\gamma} is well reproduced by our models as well as
the relationships that involve the H2 emission line ratios observed in the
spectroscopic data.We conclude that the heating by X-rays produced by active
nuclei can be considered a common and very important mechanism of excitation of
[Fe ii] and H2.
