In this study, we investigated how controlling lattice-mismatch strain affected the crystal structure as well as the macroscopic and microscopic ferroelectric properties of (001) BiFeO3 epitaxial thin films. Lattice-mismatch strain was controlled by introducing a BaTiO3 buffer layer. Structural analysis indicated that the film with a lattice mismatch of - 1.3% has a crystal structure of the rhombohedral-like monoclinic phase (M-A). In contrast, the crystal structure of the film with a lattice mismatch of 0.5% is M-A with a (001) plane tilted from the normal of the substrate surface. Scanning probe microscopy with a conducting probe revealed that the density of leakage spots of the film with the lattice mismatch of 0.5% was lower than that of the film with a lattice mismatch of - 1.3%. In addition, the inverse piezoelectric response of the film with the lattice mismatch of 0.5% is about two times larger than that of the film with the lattice mismatch of - 1.3%. We suggest that the domain engineering more strongly affects the tilted M-A phase. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.