Substituted gadolinium gallium garnet (SGGG) crystals with calcium, magnesium and zirconium as substituting ions have been used as substrates for bismuth-substituted iron garnet epitaxial films. Single crystals have been grown from the melt composition Gd2.68Ca0.32Ga4.04Mg0.32Zr0.64O12 using the Czochralski pulling technique. Spiral growth is the most common problem in this system. With proper adjustment of the growth environment, colorless and optically transparent single crystals of SGGG up to 2 in diameter and 125 mm in length were produced. We will discuss the effect of different growth parameters on the crystal morphology, and propose an optimum growth condition for SGGG crystals. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.