The crystal structure of tamsulosin hydrochloride has been solved and refined using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data and optimized using density functional techniques. Tamsulosin hydrochloride crystallizes in space group P21 (#4) with a = 7.62988(2), b = 9.27652(2), c = 31.84996(12) Å, β = 93.2221(2)°, V = 2250.734(7) Å3, and Z = 4. In the crystal structure, two arene rings are connected by a carbon chain oriented roughly parallel to the c-axis. The crystal structure is characterized by two slabs of tamsulosin hydrochloride molecules perpendicular to the c-axis. As expected, each of the hydrogens on the protonated nitrogen atoms makes a strong hydrogen bond to one of the chloride anions. The result is to link the cations and anions into columns along the b-axis. One hydrogen atom of each sulfonamide group also makes a hydrogen bond to a chloride anion. The other hydrogen atom of each sulfonamide group forms bifurcated hydrogen bonds to two ether oxygen atoms. The powder pattern is included in the Powder Diffraction File™ as entry 00-065-1415.