Single‐crystal films of ZnO have been epitaxially grown on the (0001) and (011¯2) planes of sapphire by rf sputtering. Crystalline structures and electrical properties of the films were investigated. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) properties, including a phase velocity, a coupling coefficient, a propagation loss, and a temperature coefficient of delay, were measured for SAW propagating along thec‐axis of the ZnO films, on the (011¯2) planes of sapphire. Availability of this structure for high‐frequency SAW devices has been demonstrated by a filter with a 1050‐MHz center frequency.