Solid-state dye-doped polymers are attractive alternatives to the conventional liquid-dye solutions. In this paper, the spectral characteristics and nonlinear properties of the dye Methyl violet 2B has been studied. The third-order nonlinear optical properties of Methyl violet 2B dye in ethanol and a dye-doped polymer film were measured by the Z-scan technique. This material exhibits a negative optical nonlinearity. The dye exhibited a nonlinear refractive coefficient (n 2 = -4.14 × 10-7 and -4.291 × 10-7 cm2/W in liquid and solid media, respectively), nonlinear absorption coefficient (β = -4.634 × 10 -3 and -4.66 × 10-3 cm/W in liquid and solid media, respectively), and susceptibility (χ(3) = 1.88 × 10 -5 and 1.963 × 10-5 esu in liquid and solid media, respectively). These results show that Methyl violet 2B dye has potential applications in nonlinear optics. © 2008 MAIK Nauka.