Molecular beam deposition was used to deposit high quality zinc selenide (ZnSe) thin film on glass substrate at various substrate temperatures and Se/Zn beam equivalent pressure ratios. The best growth condition was identified by analyzing characteristics such as the full width at half-maximum and peak intensity of the (111) preferred orientation in X-ray diffraction patterns. The dependence of lattice constant, growth rate, film composition and optical property on a variety of growth parameters was discussed in detail to identify how the quality of ZnSe film can be improved. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.