V-doped SrZrO3 (SZO) thin films on LaNiO3/SiO2/Si substrate are synthesized by sol-gel method to form metal-insulator-metal (MIM) sandwich structure. The physical and electrical properties of the MIM device are studied. The structure and surface morphology of the SZO films are also characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Such a device has the bistable switching properties of current-voltage characteristics. The resistive switching between high state and low state can also be operated with voltage pulses. The device with the properties of long retention time and non-destructive readout is expected to be suitable for nonvolatile memory application. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.