Potassium di hydrogen phosphate (KDP) is an efficient nonlinear optical crystal employed in frequency conversion applications. 1mol% hippuric acid doped potassium di hydrogen phosphate (HAKDP) crystals with the dimensions 35×8×4mm3 were grown using the slow evaporation technique. The grown HAKDP crystal is iso-structural with pure KDP, but a variation in the crystallographic parameters was observed. The UV–VIS–NIR study suggests that the crystal is highly transparent in the region 340–1200nm. The functional groups present in the grown crystal were observed in the FTIR analysis. The powder SHG test performed on the grown crystal revealed the NLO efficiency of the crystal has increased due to doping when compared with pure KDP crystal.