3,4-Dimethoxy chalcone, a nonlinear optical material, was synthesized and noncentro symmetric single crystals were grown in solution by slow evaporation technique. Thermal analysis such as DSC revealed a good thermal stability of 3,4-dimethoxy chalcone. The FT-IR and FT-Raman spectral studies were carried out to investigate the structural properties of the title compound. The molecular orbitals and natural bond analysis of this material were calculated by Density Functional Theory calculations. The second harmonic conversion efficiency was determined using the Kurtz powder technique, which is 8 times that of urea. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.