In this thesis, the single crystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) films were deposited on sapphire substrates using RF magnetron sputtering system. The film quality is optimized by adjusting growth parameters. The structural characteristics of zinc oxide films were analyzed by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and Transmission electron microscope (TEM) measurement. The results of the X-ray diffractometer show that all the zinc oxide films exhibit the characteristic of c-axis preferential orientation. The full-width of half maximum (FWHM) of the ZnO (0002) rocking curve decreases from 2.45 degrees to 1.24 degrees for the films grown with various process conditions. The electron diffraction pattern of the TEM as well as the XRD phi scan revealed that the ZnO thin film has a single crystal structure. The microstructure of ZnO films was observed by bright and dark field images and the high resolution of TEM.