Single crystals of bis-2,7-diethylaminohepta-2,5-dien-4- one (BEDO) were grown by the solution growth method. The material has been synthesized and characterized by FT-IR and NMR techniques. The optical transmittance was found to be in the 280-1100 nm wavelength region. Its powder second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency was measured by using a Nd:YAG laser and the value was observed to be 0.51 times that of urea. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.