We report the obtaining of as-grown polycrystalline CdTeO3 thin films grown by the reactive pulsed laser deposition technique in a controlled atmosphere of pure oxygen. X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows no CdTe presence and peaks, corresponding to single-phase of face-centred cubic of polycrystalline CdTeO3, are well-defined, with a calculated gain size of about 120 nm and a compressive strain of 0.083%. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) shows 11% of CdTe and 89% of CdTeO3. This CdTe, which was not present in XRD measurements, was related with Te reduction in the surface during the XPS measurement. Atomic force microscopy shows a mainly smooth surface with spheroid-like grains. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.