We report that the lattice strain induced phase selection and epitaxial relaxation in crystalline GeTe thin films by pulsed laser deposition. The single-crystal substrates of MgO and BaF2 are designed to match the lattice of low-temperature alpha-GeTe phase and high-temperature alpha-GeTe phase, respectively. The structures of deposited GeTe films show lattice-match dependence rather than temperature dependence. Raman analysis indicates that the alpha-GeTe to beta-GeTe ferroelectric phase transition accompanies an increase of local six-coordinated Ge atoms, which is analogous to the phase transition from amorphous to crystalline for memory application. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.