Silicon substituted hydroxyapatite (Si-HA) is a new material with an enhanced bioactibity and it can be produced by chemical synthesis. Nevertheless, the coating of metallic substrates with a bioactive material is a common method nowadays to improve its integration with the receptor bone. Si-HA films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), using targets composed of mixtures of RA with different Si containing sources such as SiO2 and diatomaceous earth. The Si-HA films were characterized in terms of structure and chemical composition by spectroscopic techniques (FTIR, XPS), and several ion beam techniques (RBS, PIXE). The analysis revealed that the Si is successfully incorporated into the RA structure, as well as traces of other elements such as Na, Fe or K. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.