Epitaxial magnetoelectric BiFeO3 thin films have been prepared on SrRuO3-buffered (00 1) SrTiO3 substrates using a novel hybrid liquid-phase epitaxy (HLPE) approach, which is a solid-liquid growth process with delivery from a vapour source by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The HLPE process enables rapid "liquid assisted" growth of epitaxial films of many functional materials without some of the disadvantages of classical liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE) and of PLD. High growth rates up to 2 nm/s were demonstrated in dense films of 350 nm thickness. The method has great promise for fabrication of device materials where thick, dense epitaxial films are required. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.