We present a study of the thermal evolution of the Ag/Ge(1 1 1) interface by combining Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED), Spatially Resolved Auger Electron Spectroscopy (SR-AES), and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). We followed the morphological and structural changes of a thick Ag film grown onto Ge(1 1 1)-c(2 x 8) at 300 K after annealing at selected temperatures between 370 and 800 K. The morphology of the system evolves from a flat film up to the nucleation of islands through the formation of dendritic structures. The diffraction pattern shows different intermediate surface reconstructions. We report evidences of Ge intermixing into the Ag growing layer and segregation on top of it. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.