The influence of substrate materials on the crystallization kinetics of thin film PZT is presented. Structure and orientation of electrodes affect the nucleation and growth processes of PZT as it transforms from pyrochlore to perovskite. These determine the final film structure and ferroelectric and dielectric properties. Rapid thermal processed sol gel PZT was fabricated on ruthenium oxide (RuO2) and on platinum electrodes. A study of oriented RuO2electrodes was carried out using glancing angle XRD and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These techniques were used to assess types and locations of phases present in the films, grain size, crystal orientation and morphology.