Epitaxial (111) CdTe films have been grown on (1̄ 1̄ 1̄) InP single crystals by one step electrodeposition in aqueous acidic solution, at a temperature of 85 °C, and a growth rate of about 0.7 μm h−1. Reflexion high-energy electron diffraction and five-circle x-ray diffraction techniques have been used to characterize the interface structure and epitaxial quality. The epitaxy of CdTe (fcc a=6.49 Å) takes place with a direct continuation of the InP lattice (fcc a=5.87 Å), with no rotation of the respective crystallographic directions. The epitaxy is markedly improved when the InP substrate is covered with a thin film (20–30 nm) of epitaxial CdS grown by chemical bath deposition which acts as an interfacial buffer layer.