Thin films of manganese perovskite La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 were grown epitaxially on lattice mismatched (1%) SrTiO3(001) single crystalline substrates using the pulsed laser deposition method. Film thickness was varied in the range 10 run to 200 run. A large thickness dependence of the Curie temperature and of the metal-insulator transition temperature, has been observed. Detailed structural analyses have been performed in order to determine the epitaxial strain. The change of magnetic and transport properties and the appearance of a strong magnetic anisotropy are discussed using a model based on variations of the local Mn-O-Mn bonds.