The disordered laser crystal neodymium-doped calcium lithium niobium gallium garnet (Nd:CLNGG) was successfully grown by the Czochralski method. Its thermal properties, including the average linear thermal expansion coefficient, thermal diffusion coefficient, specific heat, and thermal conductivity were measured, and continuous-wave (CW) laser performance at 1.06 mu m was demonstrated. The maximum power of 1.48 W was achieved with corresponding optical conversion efficiency of 12.4% and slope efficiency of 16.2%. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.