The optically good quality single crystals of 2-Hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde (2H1N) were grown by vertical Bridgman method. The thermal behavior of the grown crystal was studied by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The cell parameters of the grown 2H1N crystal were confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction (SXRD). The powder XRD (PXRD) was carried out to identify the crystalline planes. The nature of bonding and structure of 2H1N was analyzed using (HNMR)-H-1 and (CNMR)-C-13. Functional groups of 2H1N crystal were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectral analysis. The optical transmittance was determined by the UV-Vis NIR spectral analysis and the grown crystal has good optical transparency in the visible region (300-900 nm). To analyze the third order nonlinear optical properties, z-scan study was carried out and the nonlinear optical parameters like refractive index (1.30 x 10(-7) cm(2)/W), absorption coefficient (0.0410(-4) cm/W) and the third order nonlinear optical susceptibility (1.90 x 10(-6) esu) was determined. The optical limiting behavior and clamping measurements of 2H1N was 37.3 mW and 1.08 mW respectively. The dielectric constant (similar to 12) and low dielectric loss as a function of frequency were measured to ensure the 2H1N has better optical application.