We analyze the morphology evolution of the Ga doped ZnO(GZO) films deposited on quartz substrates by a laser deposition system. The surface morphologies of the film samples grown with different times are measured by the atomic force microscope, and they are analyzed quantitatively by using the image data. In the initial stage of the growth time shorter than 8 min, our analysis shows that the GZO surface morphologies are influenced by such factors as the random fluctuations, the smoothening effects in the deposition, the lateral strain and the substrate. The interface width uw(t) and the lateral correlation length xi(t) at first decrease with deposition time t. For the growth time larger than 8 min, w(t) and xi(t) increase with time and it indicates the roughening of the surface and the surface morphology exhibits the fractal characteristics. By fitting data of the roughness w(t) versus deposition time t larger than 4 min to the power-law function, we obtain the growth exponent beta is 0.3; and by the height-height correlation functions of the samples to that of the self-affine fractal model, we obtain the value of roughness exponent alpha about 0.84 for all samples with different growth time t. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.