Single ZnCdSe quantum wells (QWs) as well as stacks of CdSe sub-monolayer (SML) insertions embedded in ZnSe have been grown on GaAs(001) substrates misoriented up to 10 degrees towards the (111)A or the (011) direction, respectively. The influence of the substrate misorientation on the structural and optical properties has been studied by high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and photoluminescence spectroscopy. HRXRD measurements revealed a strain-induced tilting of the II-VI layers with respect to the GaAs substrate in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions. A decreased Cd incorporation with increasing misorientation angle was found for the ZnCdSe QWs due to the competition process between Zn and Cd. In case of the CdSe SMLs, the additional strain perpendicular to the surface overcompensates the advantage of more binding partners at the step edges for Cd atoms leading to a possible formation of quantum structures only for the highest step density.