Sputter deposition of nickel films at liquid nitrogen temperature was performed to clarify the effects of the surface migration of the deposited atoms. The film deposited at liquid nitrogen temperature and low Ar gas pressure had excellent (111) orientation and good crystallinity. Therefore, deposition at a low-temperature and low Ar gas pressure is a useful technique for obtaining film with excellent crystal orientation of the closest packing plane. Ion bombardment of the film surface during deposition at liquid nitrogen temperature led to a large degradation of the film crystallinity, but it had quite the opposite effect at room temperature, i.e., it promoted the (111) orientation of the film and improved the crystallinity of the film. These results indicate that the ion bombardment produced defects in the crystallites at a low temperature where migration of the deposited atoms was limited.