In this present work, we have successfully grown gamma-glycine single crystals in the presence of gadolinium nitrate as an additive by using slow solvent evaporation method. Powder X-ray Diffraction study confirms y-polymorph structure and it crystallizes into a hexagonal crystal system with a space group of P3}. UV-Visible transmittance spectra was recorded for the grown crystal to analyse the transparency in visible and near infrared region (NIR). In Kurtz-Perry powder test, the SHG efficiency of grown crystal is found to be 3.125 times higher than reference KDP crystal. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of gadolinium nitrate added glycine was carried out as a function of frequency and the obtained results were discussed. The photoconductivity study confirms the positive photoconducting nature of grown crystal. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.