A new compound, 2,5-di-[2-(4-hydroxy-phenyl)ethylene]-terephthalonitrile (DHPEPN), was synthesized. The interaction between bovine serum albumin (BSA) and DHPEPN in Tris–HCl buffer solution (pH 7.4) was investigated using fluorescence and UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. The mechanism of BSA fluorescence quenched by DHPEPN is discussed according to the Stern–Volmer equation. The binding constant and the thermodynamic parameters ΔH, ΔS, ΔG at different temperatures were calculated. The results indicate that the van der Waals interaction and hydrogen bonding play major roles in the binding process. The distance between BSA and DHPEPN is estimated to be 3.59nm based on the Förster resonance energy transfer theory. The spectral changes of synchronous fluorescence and three-dimensional fluorescence suggest that both of the microenvironment of DHPEPN and the conformation of BSA are changed during binding between DHPEPN and BSA.