In the title compound, C5H2C12N2O3, the nitro group is essentially coplanar with the aromatic ring, with a twist angle of 4.00 (6)degrees and a fold angle of 2.28 (17)degrees. The crystal structure exhibits a herringbone pattern with the zigzag running along the b axis. The herringbone layer-to-layer distance is 3.0075 (15) angstrom, with a shift of 5.150 (4) angstrom. Neighboring molecules are tilted at a 57.83 (4)degrees (ring-to-ring) angle with each other. The nitro group on one molecule points to the N-oxide group on the neighboring one, with an intermolecular O center dot center dot center dot N(nitro) distance of 3.1725 (13) angstrom.