In this contribution we describe the growth of hybrid II-VI/III-V heterostructures, CdMnSe on either InAs or AlGaSb, using molecular beam epitaxy. These material combinations are promising candidates for research on spin-dependent transport phenomena. The grown layers are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). We find that the incorporation of a ZnTe buffer layer between the II-VI and the III-V materials strongly improves the quality of the CdMnSe layers. We have compared different techniques for the growth of this ZnTe buffer. Preliminary transport measurements to deduce the magnetoresistance of the grown CdMnSe layers are presented. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.