Two-phase zirconium boride thin films have been obtained by ultra-short pulsed laser ablation (PLA) of a zirconium dodecaboride (ZrB12) target performed in vacuum. The ablation source was a frequency doubled (lambda = 527 nm) Nd:glass laser with a pulse duration of 250 fs. Laser induced plasma has been studied by ICCD imaging and time and space resolved optical emission spectroscopy (OES), whereas the deposited films have been characterized by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-Ray diffraction and micro-Raman spectroscopy. The film morphology and composition have been interpreted on the basis of the laser ablation mechanism. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.