The structural characteristics of LaNiO3/Si(0 0 1) films grown by pulsed laser deposition have been studied mainly using a synchrotron X-ray scattering measurement. The films were grown with the (0 0 1) preferred orientation without any alignment in the in-plane direction. The initially unstrained film became strained gradually as it grew further, but its crystalline quality improved significantly. A fully (0 0 1) textured Pb(Zr0.4Ti0.6)O-3 film was successfully grown on such a (0 0 I) textured LaNiO3/Si(0 0 1) substrate as low as 350 degreesC. The nature of structure and microstructure of the Pb(Zr0.4Ti0.6)O-3 film appeared to be similar to that of the underlaying LaNiO3 film.