L-arginine hydrochloride crystals have been grown using water and ethanol+ water mixture as solvent. Growth of the anhydrous form of LAHCl has also been carried out. The grown crystals were subjected to powder X-ray diffraction studies. FTIR studies have been carried out to identify the functional groups present in the crystal. TGA and optical transmission studies have also been made on the grown crystals. The grown crystals were subjected to etching and microhardness studies. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.