We have studied the GaAs growth on (631) oriented substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Different samples were prepared by varying the growth temperature and the III/V equivalent pressure ratio. We observed by atomic force microscopy a high density of hilly like features elongated towards the [-5,9,3] direction formed during the MBE growth. The growth temperature dependence of the hillock length and width follows an Arrhenius-type behavior with activation energies of 1.4 and 0.5 eV, respectively. The hillock formation is discussed in terms of adatom diffusion anisotropy and diffusion barriers. Employing photoreflectance spectroscopy we found a splitting of the GaAs band gap energy transition that increases with the hillock density. (c) 2006 American Vacuum Society.