Mrk 1210 is an Sa galaxy at z = 0.01350. Its optical spectrum displays a strong featureless continuum and Wolf-Rayet features within the central 200 pc (Storchi-Bergmann et al. 1998), evidencing the presence of a circumnuclear starburst. Here, we present SpeX near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy in the interval 0.8−2.4 μm, combined with optical (3700Å-7400Å) observations, aimed at studying the physical properties of the nuclear and extended gas. Kinematics derived from the line profiles, extinction affecting the emitting gas, temperature and density indicators of the NLR, and excitation sources for the molecular and low-ionization gas are discussed. The presence of high-ionization as well as low-ionization and molecular lines in the optical and NIR spectrum suggests a strong competition between the starburst component and the ionized gas from the central engine. This makes Mrk 1210 an ideal target to study the interplay between starburst and nuclear activity in galaxies.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html