Epitaxial yttria-stabilised zirconia films have been prepared on (1 -1,0,2) sapphire substrates by pulsed injection MOCVD. The structure and the degree of in-plane and out-of-plane texture of the layers has been characterised by X-ray diffraction as a function of deposition temperature and film thickness. The layers have been found to be preferentially <0 0 1> oriented with a high degree of epitaxy, but the residual presence of <1 1 1> oriented grains has been discussed and correlated to the layers characteristics. The surface morphology and roughness have been characterised by the AFM tapping mode method. The thickness of the layers in the nanometer scale has been determined by the grazing angle X-ray reflectivity. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.