A new organic nonlinear optical material piperazinium meso-tartrate was synthesized. Single crystals were grown by the solvent evaporation method from triple distilled water at room temperature. Single crystal X-ray diffraction study confirms that piperazinium meso-tartrate belongs to monoclinic crystal system with centrosymmetric space group C2/c. From the powder XRD pattern, the various planes of reflections were identified. The grown crystals were subjected to FTIR, H-1 NMR and C-13 NMR analyses to confirm the synthesized compound. A wide transparency window useful for optoelectronics applications is indicated by the UV studies. The photoluminescence (PL) emission spectrum showed prominent emission at 390 nm when they were excited at 250 nm. The mechanical stability of the grown crystal was tested with Vickers microhardness tester and the work hardening coefficient of the grown material was estimated. The thermal properties of the crystals were investigated by using thermo-gravimetric (TG) and differential thermal analyses (DTA). The etching studies were performed to assess the growth pattern of the crystal. Dielectric response of the crystal was analyzed for different frequencies and temperature. The third order nonlinear optical parameters were derived by the Z-Scan technique. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.