Using methanol, ethanol, 2-methoxyethanol and isopropanol as solvents in the precursor solutions, respectively, Al-doped ZnO films were synthesized on glass substrates by cold wall aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition. The deposition mechanism and the influence of solvents on deposition were discussed, finding that the degree of (0 0 2) orientation growth of the film was significantly influenced by the viscosity of precursor solutions. The deposition velocity decreased as the viscosity of precursor solution increased. Grains tended to uniformly distributed over the substrates for the samples deposited from high-viscosity solutions, while low-viscosity solutions resulted in grain agglomeration. Some droplets generated from 2-methoxyethanol system coagulated due to the greater surface tension. Grains that differ significantly in size were deposited on the film. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.