For the first time the growth of polycrystalline CdS films by the gradient recrystallization and growth technique on silicon, quartz, and glass substrates is reported. X‐ray diffraction, photoluminescence, scanning electron microscopy, and microprobe studies were used for their characterization. This preliminary study shows that this technique is suitable for growing CdS films with larger grain sizes than those obtained by conventional evaporation methods. The photoluminescence studies show that the emission spectrum of the films deposited on silicon is comparable to single‐crystal CdS.