Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2002 / ib / Paper 2 / 15G / a

If $U$ is a unipotent matrix, $N=U-I$ is a nilpotent matrix. If $Uv=\lambda v$ for a nonzero eigenvector, then $N^{m}v=(\lambda -1{)}^{m}v=0$ for some $m$, forcing $\lambda =1$.

Conversely, suppose the only eigenvalue is $1$. Over $\mathbb{C}$, the characteristic polynomial is then $(t-1{)}^n$. The Cayley-Hamilton theorem gives $(U-I{)}^n=0$, so $U-I$ is nilpotent. Thus $U$ is unipotent if and only if its only eigenvalue is one.