A donor acceptor substituted aromatic system 5-(4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-penta-2,4-dienoic acid (DMAPPDA) has been synthesized and its spectralproperties have been explored on the basis of steady state absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. Spectral features point largely towards a possible occurrence of photoinduced intramolecular charge transfer process from the donor NMe2 group to the acceptor