Abstract The tris(thiourea)zinc sulphate (ZTS) and L-histidine doped ZTS (L-HZTS) single crystals were grown by evaporation technique. The unit cell dimensions were defined by single crystal XRD. The FTIR studies validated functional groups involvement and Vickers microhardness test has defined the mechanical properties. The optical and thermal properties were identified by UV-Vis spectrometer and TG/DTA respectively. The SHG efficiency was measured using powder technique.