A cadmium complex constructed by the ligand 1,3-dithiole-2-thione-4,5-dithiolato (DMIT) has been synthesized and its structure has been determined by means of X-ray single crystal diffraction. Crystal data for this complex are as follows: monoclinic, space group Cc, a ¼ 24.590(2), b ¼ 8.7882 (7), c ¼ 13.8032(11) Å , b ¼ 116.3350(10) , V ¼ 2,673.3(4) Å 3 , Z ¼ 4, F(000) ¼ 1,188. The central cadmium ion coordinates with two DMIT which constructed a distorted tetrahedron. Its third-order nonlinear optical property has been studied using Z-scan technique with 20 ps pulses at wavelength 1,064 nm. Its molecular second hyperpolarizability c was determined to be 3.96 Â 10 À55 C.m 4 =V 3 .