Low dislocation density ZnTe heteroepitaxial layers are achieved by inserting a thin ZnTe buffer layer at low growth temperature (LT-buffer) followed by annealing. The ZnTe heteroepitaxy layer with a LT-buffer shows a narrow line width of X-ray rocking curve as narrow as 42 arcsec in (0 0 4) reflection and the dislocation density is estimated as 1.3 x 10(6) cm(-2). A cross-sectional view of transmission electron microscopy shows high structural quality of ZnTe layer with LT-buffers. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.