An organic and inorganic hybrid material was prepared from a nonlinear optically active imidazole derivative 4-(nitrophenyl)-2,4-Bis-(4,4'-[N,N-bis-(2-hydroxyethyl)aminophenyl]) imidazole and metal alkoxide of Nb(V) via sol-gel process. The second-order nonlinear optical and pyroelectric properties of the hybrid film were investigated in terms of the second harmonic generation (SHG) and pyroelectric coefficient measurement. The SHG coefficient d(33) was found to be 29.3 pm/V at the fundamental wavelength of 1064 nm and the pyroelectric coefficient P was found to be 1.47 x 10(-6) C/cm(2) K. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.