The new neutron-deficient isotope 249 No was synthesized for the first time in the fusionevaporation reaction 204 Pb( 48 Ca,3n) 249 No. After separation, using the kinematic separator SHELS, the new isotope was identified with the GABRIELA detection system through genetic correlations with the known daughter and granddaughter nuclei 245 Fm and 241 Cf. The alpha-decay activity of 249 No has an energy of 9129( 22) keV and half-life 38.3(2.8) ms. An upper limit of 0.2% was measured for the fission branch of 249 No. Based on the present data and recent information on the decay properties of 253 Rf and aided by Geant4 simulations, the ground state of 249 No is assigned the 5/2 + [622] neutron configuration and a partial decay scheme from 253 Rf to 245 Fm could be established. The production cross-section was found to be σ(3n)=0.47(4) nb at a mid-target beam energy of 225.4 MeV, which corresponds to the maximum of the calculated excitation function. Correlations of the 249 No alpha activity with subsequent alpha decays of energy 7728(20) keV and half-life 1.2 +1.0 −0.4 min provided a firm measurement of the electron-capture or β + branch of 245 Fm to 245 Es. The excitation function for the 1n, 2n and 3n evaporation channels was measured. In the case of the 2n-evaporation channel 250 No, a strong variation of the ground state and isomeric state populations as a function of bombarding energy could be evidenced.