The initial stage of hydrogenated silicon (Si:H) growth from SiH4 and H-2 by rf glow discharge has been investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), hn atomically flat, hydrogen-terminated c-Si(lll) substrate was used to study the behavior of the deposition precursors in the initial stags of growth. The AFM images of the SI:H surface showed almost identical surface morphology to that of the initial Si(lll) surface up to several tens of angstroms, which was characterized by a distinct biatomic step structure with a height of 0.31 nm and atomically fat terraces. This implies that the Si network is formed uniformly in the beginning of the growth. On the other hand, in situ monitoring of ellipsometry angles (psi, Delta) suggested inhomogeneous growth, which could be explained by its large void content due to internal strain as well as hydrogen accumulation of the Si:H film in the initial stage of the growth.