An organic nonlinear optical single-crystal 4-nitrophenol was successfully grown by vertical Bridgman technique using single-wall ampule in size of 38 × 15 mm2. The lattice parameters and crystallinity of the title crystal were confirmed through the single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction studies, respectively. The UV–Vis–NIR spectral analysis addressed that the title crystal has a lower optical cut-off wavelength at 405 nm and exhibits transparency of 82% in entire visible and near-IR regions with a wide band gap of 2.84 eV. The hardness, Meyer’s index, stiffness constant, yield strength, fracture toughness, and brittle index of the grown specimen were systematically investigated using a Vickers microhardness tester. The low value of dielectric constant and dielectric loss for the present crystal enrolls that it is well suitable for microelectronic industry. The laser-induced damage threshold value of the grown specimen is found to be 17.66 GW/cm2. The Z-scan measurement was employed to calculate the third-order nonlinear optical parameters of the title crystal. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.