Pb(Zr0.4Ti0.6)O-3 [PZT(40/60)] films were deposited onto LaNiO3 (LNO) coated Si substrates by metal-organic decomposition (MOD) technique. Excess Pb was incorporated in the film by using excess Ph (2%=15%,) in the solution. The crystallinity and ferroelectric properties of PZT films were investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD). RT66A test system and HP4194 impedance analyzer, respectively. Rayleigh law was employed to analyze the defect concentration in the films. The results show that all the PZT films show the (1 0 0) preferential orientation with complete perovskite structure except for the 2% film displaying some pyrochlore phase. The (1 0 0) preferential orientation is mainly attributed to LNO bottom electrode. which has the highly (1 0 0) preferential orientation. The 10% film shows the best polarization and dielectric properties. The remnant polarization and coercive field are about 10.1 muC/cm(2) and 73 kV/cm under an electric field around 330 kV/cm, respectively. And the dielectric constant and dissipation factor are about 656 and 0.022 at a frequency of 1 kHz, respectively The good ferroelectric properties of the 10% film are mainly attributed to the low defect concentration in the film. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.