Zirconium tin titanate (Zr0.8Sn0.2TiO4, ZST) thin films were deposited along the (100) index on a p-type Si substrate by a modified sol-gel method. The effects of film thickness on the crystalline structure and electrical property of the ZST films were investigated. X-ray diffraction confirmed a pronounced preferred orientation in thinner films and a polycrystalline structure in thicker films. The relationship between the leakage current densities and different crystalline structures is discussed. The leakage current densities of the prepared ZST films were below 10(-7) A/cm(2) at 3 MV/cm, which were sufficiently small to be a candidate for application in dynamic random-access memory (DRAM). (c) 2006 The Electrochemical Society.