Heteroepitaxial films of CdTe and HgCdTe have been grown on InSb and GaAs substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The CdTe growth temperature was 440 °C and the HgCdTe growth temperature was 410 °C. Specular CdTe films were obtained on (110) and (211) InSb substrates and (100) GaAs substrates. Specular surfaces of HgCdTe/CdTe/InSb and HgCdTe/CdTe/GaAs heterostructures were also obtained. X‐ray diffraction measurements indicated that the heteroepitaxial films were single crystalline. The growth plane of the CdTe films on InSb substrates was slightly misoriented from the InSb orientation. The heteroepitaxial films deposited on GaAs substrates replicated the substrate orientation.