The direct liquid injection chemical vapor deposition (DLI-CVD) technique has been used for the growth of cobalt ferrite (CFO) films on (100) oriented MgAl2O4 (MAO) substrates. Smooth and highly epitaxial cobalt ferrite thin films, with the epitaxial relationship MA0(1 00)100111CFO(100)10011, are obtained under optimized deposition conditions. The films exhibit bulk like structural and magnetic properties with an out-of-plane lattice constant of 8.370 A and a saturation magnetization of 420 [(A/m at room temperature. The Raman spectra of films on MgAl2O4 support the fact that the Fe3+ and the Co2+-ions are distributed in an ordered fashion on the B-site of the inverse spinel structure. The DLI-CVD technique has been extended for the growth of smooth and highly oriented cobalt ferrite thin films on a variety of other substrates, including MgO, and piezoelectric lead magnesium niobate-lead Litanate and lead zinc niobate-lead Litanate substrates. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved