Single crystal of 5-nitroindoIe was grown by slow cooling solution growth technique. Vicker's microhardness test has carried out in order to understand the mcchanical properties of the grown crystal. The Meyer's index number shows the material belong to soft category. The crystal surface has analyzed by chemical etching and atomic force mi-croscopy (AFM). The etching study reveals the growth pattern and dislocations present in the grown crystal. The amplitude parameters measured from AFM studies helps to analyze the surface topography of the grown crystal. The emission spectrum has recorded between 540-720 nm. The broad emission band appeared in the region 552-567 nm shows the blue emission in the crystal. © 2015 Scientific Publishers. All rights reserved.