Ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O-3 (PZT) thin films sandwiched by YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) electrodes on (001) SrTiO3 wafers are prepared by pulsed laser deposition. The dynamic hysteresis response of the films to the periodic time-varying electrical field E(t) of different amplitude E-0 (0-45 kV cm(-1)) and frequency f (f = 10(-2) to 10(5) Hz) is measured. We study in detail the evolution and stability of the hysteresis pattern. A stability diagram for the dynamic hysteresis of PZT films is developed and an empirical scaling relationship covering the whole frequency range is proposed. Finally, we develop a Monte-Carlo (MC) algorithm based on the planar X-Y model to simulate the dynamic hysteresis in multi-domain spin systems and a qualitative consistency between the simulated dynamic behaviors and measured ones is established. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier B.V.