Benzoyl glycine (BG) is a promising organic nonlinear optical (NLO) crystal,whose second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency is much higher than that of KDP (potassium dihydrogen phosphate).Single crystals of pure, Cu~(2+) and Cd~(2+) doped BG were grown by slow evaporation technique.Optically transparent and defect free single crystals of size up to 10 mm×15 mm×10 mm were harvested in a period of 40-60 days.The growth conditions of pure and doped crystals of BG were optimized and the grown crystals were confirmed by single crystal XRD (X-ray diffraction).The grown crystals were characterized by FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy),optical absorption and microhardness studies.The microhardness studies confirm that BG has a moderate VHN (Vickers hardness number) value in comparison to the other organic NLO crystals.The efficiency of frequency doubling was measured for the using Nd:YAG laser and the results were discussed. Benzoyl glycine (BG) is a promising organic nonlinear optical (NLO) crystal, whose second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency is much higher than that of KDP (potassium dihydrogen phosphate) .Single crystals of pure, Cu 2+ and Cd ~ (2+) doped BG were grown by slow evaporation technique. Optically transparent and defect free single crystals of size up to 10 mm × 15 mm × 10 mm were harvested in a period of 40-60 days.The growth conditions of pure and doped crystals of BG were optimized and the grown crystals were confirmed by single crystal XRD (X-ray diffraction). The grown crystals were characterized by FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), optical absorption and microhardness studies. microhardness studies confirm that BG has a moderate VHN (Vickers hardness number) value in comparison to the other organic NLO crystals. The efficiency of frequency doubling was measured for the using Nd: YAG laser and the results were discussed.