We report an investigation on the growth of thin films of anthracene on silicon substrates by rapid expansion of supercritical solutions (RESS) using carbon dioxide. The growth characteristics and growth rates of the grains were investigated with substrate temperatures in the range of 308.2-326.2 K, with spray distances in the range of 3.0-8.0 cm, and with an equilibrium temperature of 318.2 K and equilibrium pressure of 15.0 MPa. The morphology of the grains was island-like at lower substrate temperatures and/or with shorter spray distances, and was dendritic at higher substrate temperatures and/or larger spray distances. The growth rates were in the range of 2-8 x 10(-8) m s(-1), which is one order of magnitude faster than from the gas phase. The activation energy for grain growth was 107.7 kJ mol(-1) with the conditions that corresponded to island-like growth, and was 38.4 kJ mol(-1) with conditions that gave rise to dendritic growth. It follows that the growth mode and growth rate depend mainly on the surface integration at lower substrate temperatures and/or shorter spray distances, and is determined mainly by mass transfer at higher substrate temperatures and/or larger spray distances.