Single crystals of Zn1-xCrxTe were grown by vapour phase growth method in the composition range of 0 <= x <= 0.005. Chemical analysis, surface morphology, structural and microhardness studies were carried out by EDAX, SEM, XRD and Vicker's indentation techniques, respectively. Microscopic variations between the target and actual compositions were noticed. Morphology studies revealed that dislocation aided growth is active in the present crystals. XRD studies showed that samples of all compositions crystallized in zinc blende structure, and the lattice parameters varied linearly with x following Vegard's law. Vicker's hardness (H-v) decreased exponentially with x. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.