Quantum chemical calculations of energy, structural parameters and vibrational wavenumbers of 4-bromoisoquinoline (4BIQ) were carried out by using B3LYP method using 6-311++G**, cc-pVTZ and LANL2DZ basis sets. The optimised geometrical parameters obtained by DFT calculations are in good agreement with electron diffraction data. Interpretations of the experimental FTIR and FT-Raman spectra have been reported with the aid of the theoretical wavenumbers. The differences between the observed and scaled wavenumber values of most of the fundamentals are very small. The thermodynamic parameters have also been computed. Electronic properties of the molecule were discussed through the molecular electrostatic potential surface, HOMO–LUMO energy gap and NBO analysis. To provide precise assignments of 1H and 13CNMR spectra, isotropic shielding and chemical shifts were calculated with the Gauge-Invariant Atomic Orbital (GIAO) method.