Bi was galvanostatically electrodeposited in a hydrochloric acid solution in the presence and absence of a 0.5 T field. The effects of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) convection were focused on the concentration overpotential as well as the current efficiency. The morphological and microstructural variation of electrodeposited Bi thin film was also investigated. Dendritic growth enhanced at higher current density was considerably suppressed by superimposition of a 0.5 T field, while the effect on the crystal microstructure was not confirmed. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.