Polycrystalline transparent semiconducting zinc oxide films have been deposited by the oxidation of diethyl zinc. The film growth rate is controlled by a complex multistep oxidation process which is dominated by radical reactions. The effect of substrate temperature and gas pressures have been studied. Samples deposited between 280 and 350 °C have a conductivity varying from 10−2 to 50 Ω−1 cm−1. The electrical properties of the films which are typical of polycrystalline material with small crystallites are shown to depend very closely on the film growth conditions. A study of oxygen chemisorption at grain boundaries confirms the importance of grain boundary effects in ZnO polycrystalline films.