The title compound, C13H8INO, was prepared by a condensation reaction of 4-nitro-benzene with phenyl-acetonitrile in NaOH-ethanol solution. There are two independent mol-ecules in the asymmetric unit, in which the dihedral angles between the benzene ring and the benzoisoxazole unit are 4.2 (3) and 4.1 (3)°. The crystal packing is governed by C-H⋯N, C-I⋯π and C-I⋯O inter-actions.