In this paper, we present the first experimental Compton profile of ytterbium. Measurement has been made, at an intermediate resolution (0.40 a.u.), using gamma-ray Compton spectrometry employing a 20 Ci 137 Cs source. In the absence of band-structure calculations, the experimental profile is compared with a free-electron model-based profile and renormalised free-atom (RFA) model. It is seen that the RFA results are comparatively in better agreement with the experiment. Using our Compton profile measurement, we have also derived the cohesive energy of ytterbium.