Molecular beam epitaxy growth of CdTe epitaxial layers on Si (100) substrates using the two-step growth method was performed to produce high-quality CdTe thin layers. The reflection high-energy electron diffraction patterns were streaky with clear Kikuchi lines, which is direct evidence for layer-by-layer two-dimensional growth of CdTe on Si. From the X-ray diffraction analysis, the grown layer was found to be a CdTe (111) epitaxial film, regardless of the film thickness. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements at 12 K showed that the defect density of the CdTe film grown on Si using two-step growth decreased in comparison with that grown using direct growth. The bound exciton appearing in the PL measurements shifted to the low energy side as the thickness of the CdTe increased. When the CdTe thickness increased from 1 to 1.8 mu m, the peak position of the bound exciton shifted by 7.2 meV, and the stress obtained from the exciton peak shift was -12.405 kbar. These results indicate that high quality CdTe films grown by two-step growth hold promise for applications as buffer layers for the subsequent growth of HgxCd1-xTe.