We demonstrate the growth of high quality, single phase, wurtzite MgxZn1-xO thin films on p-type Si (111) substrate by magnetron sputtering using Mg0.3Zn0.7O as target and no buffer layer is used for the growth. The films are highly oriented along the c-axis and have nanorod-like morphology. The Mg content in MgxZn1-xO films varies in a large range (40.7-51 at. %) by changing the substrate temperature from room temperature to 250 degrees C. The MgxZn1-xO films maintain the hexagonal phase up to 150 degrees C substrate temperature and the Mg content at this temperature is 43.7 at.%. The heterostructures of MgxZn1-xO/Si are fabricated into metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors. The signal to noise ratio (S/N) is as high as 4.3 x 10(4)% at 2 V bias under 325 nm laser at relatively low laser illumination intensity (2.77 mW), and the output photocurrent increases with the increase in the UV illumination intensity at both - 10 V and + 10 V biased voltage. The photocurrents increase with the rise in the illumination intensity. The peak responsivity is 4.6 A/W at 292 nm with a cutoff wavelength of 305 nm and at 9 V bias voltage. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.