It is shown that the growth mode of cobalt on the Cu(110) surface at 350 K can be changed from three-dimensional to extended layer-by-layer growth by pre- and co-adsorption of oxygen. The shape and the intensity of the growth oscillations observed in thermal energy helium atom scattering experiments depends sensitively on the total oxygen coverage. Helium diffraction reveals that different oxygen induced surface reconstructions of the top-most Co layer are responsible for the presence or absence of layer-by-layer growth in an extended coverage range. ©1998 American Institute of Physics.