In the title compound, C(10)H(5)N(3)O(2), the benzyl-idene-malono-nitrile unit is nearly planar, with a maximum deviation of 0.129 (2) Å for a terminal N atom; the nitro group is approximately coplanar with the benzene ring [dihedral angle = 8.8 (3)°]. An intra-molecular C-H⋯N hydrogen bond stabilizes the mol-ecular conformation.