The authors have studied selective growth of cadmium telluride on Si(211) by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Patterned substrates were produced by optical lithography of MBE-grown CdTe/As/Si(211). Photoemission microscopy was used as the main tool to study selective growth. This is very powerful because Si or SiO2 can be very easily distinguished from areas covered with even small amounts of CdTe due to contrast from work function differences. It was found that CdTe grows on CdTe without sticking on bare Si areas if the temperature is sufficiently high. Based on the analysis of the temperature dependence of the growth rate of CdTe, we suggest that different physisorption energies on Si and CdTe are the main cause of this selective growth. (C) 2008 American Vacuum Society.