Abstract Single crystals of Dimethylammonium p-nitrophenolate–p-nitrophenol have been grown from aqueous solution by slow evaporation solution growth technique. Unit cell parameters of the grown crystal were confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and the synthesized compound is crystallized in monoclinic system. Various functional groups and their vibrational frequencies were recognized from the FT-IR and FT-Raman spectrum. Thermal stability of the crystal was examined by recording the TGA/DTA curve. The grown crystal has wider transparency nature in the visible region and the lower cut-off wavelength is found at 465 nm. Mechanical property of the crystal was studied by analyzing the Vicker's microhardness measurements. The fluorescence emission from the crystal is observed at 350 nm which arise due to the presence of aromatic ring. Relative SHG conversion efficiency of the grown crystal is about 0.59 times that of KDP.