Hydroxyethylammonium p-nitrophenolate single crystal has been grown by slow evaporation solution growth method for the first time to the best of our knowledge. The crystal structure was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction study. Optical property was characterized using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy technique. C-13 and H-1 Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to confirm the formation of title compound. Third order nonlinear susceptibility was evaluated using simple Z-scan technique. The thermal behaviour was investigated with the help of differential scanning calorimetric analyses. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.