We performed a careful leakage current measurement on a thin Pb (Zr, Ti)O-3 (PZT) film prepared by chemical solution deposition. It is found that the shapes of the current-voltage (I-V) curves measured on a single metal-PZT-metal capacitor are very different depending on the measurement procedures. The anomalous current behavior is attributed to the different density of trap states generated in the course of the measurement. The decay characteristic of the current-time curves through voltage steps is discussed in terms of current conduction mechanisms. A method to obtain a quasi steady-state I-V curve for a quantitative leakage analysis is proposed. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.