Well-crystallized SrMoO4 thin films were synthesized directly on a molybdenum substrate by a non-reversible galvanic cell method through 150 h electrochemical reaction at room temperature. The as-synthesized thin films are a single phase SrMoO4 with a scheelite-type structure and show uniform and homogeneous surfaces. When excited by 290 nm ultraviolet ray at room temperature, the thin films emit the maximum peaks at 485 nm. The densification, chemical-physical and photoluminescence properties of the SrMoO4 thin films synthesized by the non-reversible galvanic cell method are significantly improved. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.