AbstractThe crystal structures of 8‐methoxy‐1‐naphthonitrile and 8‐nitro‐1‐naphthonitrile have been determined by X‐ray analysis. The methoxynitrile molecule shows a distortion pattern that is essentially similar to that found previously in other 1,8‐disubstituted naphthalenes with Nu…CO interactions; instead of non‐planarity at the carbonyl C‐atom there is bending at the the cyano C‐atom. Crystals of the nitronitrile contain two symmetry‐independent molecules that differ in structure; both show bent cyano groups, short O…CN distances, and asymmetric nitro groups, but in different degree. There is no clear correlation between the amount of any given distortion and the strength of the nucle