4H-SiC layers have been homoepitaxially grown on off-axis 4H-SiC(000-1) under various conditions by horizontal hot-wall CVD. Improvement of surface morphology and reduction of background doping concentration have been achieved. Surface morphology grown on the (000-1) C face strongly depends on the C/Si ratio at 1500 ° C, and hillock-like surface defects can be eliminate by increasing growth temperature to 1600 ° C. Site-competition behavior is clearly observed under low-pressure growth conditions even on the (000-1) C face. The lowest doping concentration has been determined to be 6.0 x 10(14) cm(-3). A trial of high-speed growth on the (000-1) C face and deep level analysis are also discussed.