l-Alanine doped with cadmium chloride crystal was grown by slow evaporation technique in an optimum condition using de-ionized water as solvent. Single crystal x-ray diffraction analysis was carried out to confirm the unit cell parameters and cell volume. The presence of amine vibrations and carboxylic acid vibrations affirm the presence of l-alanine in grown material by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis. The ultraviolet visible near-infrared region (UV–Vis-NIR) spectrum revealed that the grown crystal has a lower cut-off wavelength at 246 nm and has high transmission in the entire visible region. Further, energy gap and the refractive index of the crystal were also calculated. Thermo-gravimetric (TG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) were carried out, and it is estimated that the material is thermally stable up to 233°C and the melting point of the crystal was found to be 298°C. The mechanical strength of the material is estimated for various loads using Vicker’s microhardness and it reveals that material belongs to a soft material category. The electrical polarizability was calculated using known values such as valence electron, molecular weight, energy gap and density of the material. Z-scan technique for nonlinear studies was carried out on a LACC crystal to determine the third order nonlinear absorption (β), nonlinear refractive index (n2) and third order nonlinear susceptibility (χ(3)) using continuous wave Nd: YAG laser of 532 nm. Grown crystal shows that the material is very much suitable for second harmonic generation for frequency conversion applications. © 2019, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.