L-valine (C 5 H 11 NO 2 ), an essential amino acid of monoclinic space group P2 1 , Z = 4 and lattice parameters a = 9.688 (2) Ǻ, b = 5.267 (1) Ǻ, c = 11.980 (2) Ǻ and β = 90.75 (1)° and of size: 6.0 mm across and 0.5 mm thick was crystallized in silica gel under suitable pH conditions by reduction of solubility method. Density measurement and single crystal X-ray diffraction were used to characterize the grown crystals. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies were made and crystal packing also discussed.