C-60 films are grown uniformly and area selectively on GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Their crystalline and optical properties are investigated by reflection high energy electron diffraction, X-ray diffraction, and photoluminescence measurements. The C-60 films are found to be grown epitaxially on the substrates. The epitaxial relationships are [001](GaAs)//[111](C60), [110](GaAs)//[110](C60) for GaAs (001) substrates and [111](GaAs)//[111](C60), [110](GaAs)/[110](C60) for GaAs (111)B substrates. Area selective epitaxy of C-60 on GaAs(111)B substrates is successfully achieved by using SiO2 mask. Efficient photoluminescence is observed in both uniformly and area selectively grown layers. The observed spectrum appears in the same spectral region as that observed in bulk cubic C-60. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.