Nd:LaVO4 single crystals were successfully grown by the floating zone method and their optical properties along each optic elasticity axis were investigated. The crystals grown at 10 mm/h in air did not contain any macroscopic defects for Nd-concentrations upto 5 at%. The optic elasticity axes were determined by the conoscopic figures with a polarizing microscope. The absorption cross-section along the Z-axis was 2.6 x 10(-20) cm(2) near 800 nm and the FWHM was 20 nm. The absorption cross-sections along other directions were much the same as that along the Z-axis. The fluorescence lifetime of the 5 at%-doped crystal was approximately 80 mu s. All the polarized fluorescence spectra of the Nd:LaVO4 single crystal had a broadened band around 1060 nm with FWHMs of 7-10 nm, which are wide enough to generate femtosecond order pulses. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.