3-methyl 4-nitro pyridine 1-oxide (POM) a novel organic material has been synthesized in our laboratory from 3-picoline-N-oxide. Solubility studies have been carried out in the temperature range 20-50degreesC using different organic solvents like acetone, acetonitrile and chloroform. Single crystals of POM have been grown by low temperature solution growth using acetone and acetonitrile as solvents. The lattice parameters of the crystals grown from acetone and acetonitrile have been measured and compared using powder X-ray diffraction analyses. UV-Visible-IR spectrum has been recorded in the wavelength region 200-1100 nm for 3 mm thickness samples. Optical transmittance is found to be increased by 5% for sample grown from acetonitrile when compared with crystal grown using acetone. Dielectric studies have been carried out in the range of 1 kHz 1 MHZ using Solatron impedance/gain phase analyzer for different temperatures. Second harmonic generation in POM is observed using Nd:YAG laser with fundamental wavelength of 1064 nm. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.