We have applied the technique of picosecond laser spectroscopy to study the photodissociation of nitrobenzene at room temperature and 100 mTorr. Three different photolysis pulses,),lambda(2) = 250, 266, and 280 nm, with a duration of 20-25 ps, were used. The NO photofragment was detected via LIF between = 220 and 250 nm. The profile of rotational population distribution shows a dependency on the photolysis wavelength and the delay time. The observed rotational population distributions are non-Boltzmann and bimodal for v '' = 0, 1, and 2. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.