Gamma glycine was synthesized and the single crystals were grown by the slow evaporation method in the presence of lithium nitrate. Structure and crystalline nature of the grown γ-glycine crystal was confirmed by X-ray diffraction technique. It was found to crystallize in the trigonal system with space group P31. The chemical composition was determined by NMR. Fourier transform infrared studies revealed the functional groups present in the grown crystal and UVvisNIR spectra revealed the transmission properties of the crystal specimen. Surface morphology of the grown crystal was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and elemental composition was confirmed by energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS). The second-order nonlinear optical property of the material was investigated by Kurtz powder technique and the relative second harmonic efficiency of γ-glycine was estimated to be higher than that of KDP. The dielectric measurement was carried out as a function of frequencies at room temperature and the results were discussed. The samples have shown piezoelectric behavior with a fairly good piezoelectric charge coefficient (d33) of 7.37 pC/N. Photoluminescence studies showed emission peak around 350 nm. Thermo gravimetric and differential thermal analyses were employed to understand the thermal and physio-chemical stability of the synthesized compound. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.