The molecular orientation of the coating type of retardation film was investigated. The retardation film was created by photopolymerization of a liquid-crystalline (LC) monomer coated on a rubbed polyimide alignment layer. The relationship between the molecular orientation of a rubbed polyimide film and that of mesogens in a photopolymerized liquid crystal coated on the polyimide film has been investigated using optical measurements. It was found that the inclination angle of the refractive index ellipsoide and the optical retardation of photopolymerized LC films are strongly related to the optical properties of the rubbed polyimide film regardless of the rubbing conditions.