Nd:GdVO4 single crystals 8 min in diameter were successfully grown along the [110] direction by the floating zone method. The grown crystals had no cracks and inclusions for any Nd-concentration. The polarizing microscopy proved that the grown crystals were optically uniform since no low-angle grain boundaries and no growth striations were observed. The Nd-concentration was uniform over the crystal both along the growth and radial directions. The grown crystals had a strong absorption for pi-polarization at 879 nm, which is closer to the fluorescence wavelength of 1063 nm than conventional pumping wavelength of 808 nm for the Nd-lasers. In the laser oscillation experiments, the maximum slope efficiency of 77% was obtained for the Nd 2 at%-doped crystal by pumping with a pi-polarized beam at 879 nm. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.