Hexagonal and cubic MgxZn1-xO thin films corresponding to optical band gaps of 3.52 eV, 4 eV and 6.42 eV for x = 0.15, 0.28 and 0.85 compositions were grown by pulsed laser deposition technique. The crystalline quality of the films was investigated by X-ray diffraction-rocking curve measurements and indicated a high degree of crystallinity with narrow FWHM's of 0.21°-0.59°. Rutherford back scattering-channeling spectroscopy provides channeling yields of 7-14% indicating the good crystalline quality of the thin films. X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements clearly indicated different level of oxidation states of Mg and Zn. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.