Solid-state dye-doped polymers are attractive alternatives to the conventional liquid-dye solutions. In this paper, the third-order nonlinear optical properties of a Pararosanilin dye in 1-Butanol and a dye-doped polymer film were measured by the Z-scan technique using a continuous wave 532-nm diode-pumped Nd:Yag laser. This material exhibits a negative optical nonlinearity. The low-power optical-limiting properties based on the nonlinear refraction of this material have also been studied. © 2008 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.