Via the sol-gel process, compositionally graded and homogeneous BaZr(x)Ti(1-x)O(3) (BZT) thin films were grown on (100)-oriented LaNiO(3) (LNO)/Si substrates, respectively. The compositionally graded BZT thin film consisted of BaZr(0.05)Ti(0.95)O(3) (BZT5), BaZr(0.10)Ti(0.90)O(3) (BZT10) and BaZr(0.15)Ti(0.85)O(3) (BZT15). Homogeneous thin films of above three compositions were fabricated for comparison. X-ray diffraction measurements show all the BZT thin films exhibit a single perovskite phase with highly (100)-preferred orientation. The temperature-dependent dielectric properties of these films show typical diffuse phase transition, and the phase transition temperature are all lower than -35 degrees C. A prominent increase of the dielectric constant and a more aligned surface morphology is observed in the compositionally graded thin film compared to the homogeneous samples. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.