A new 1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene substituted naphthopyranone 2 has been synthesized and characterized. UV–vis spectroscopic and cyclic voltammetry results, interpreted on the basis of density functional theory, show that 2 displays an intramolecular charge-transfer transition and acts like a donor–acceptor (D–A) system. Furthermore, a weak fluorescence originating from the excited charge-transfer state is observed.