CdTe (111)Bfilms with a 5 in. diameter have been grown on Si (100) substrates. They were characterized byinsituelectron diffraction, x‐ray diffraction, and low‐temperature photoluminescence. The layer thickness was measured across two diameters with infrared transmission, and a standard deviation of 2.3% is obtained. This demonstrates the possibility of producing CdTe layers with a 5 in. diameter with excellent uniformity in terms of thickness and crystalline quality. Moreover, this demonstrates the potential for molecular beam epitaxial growth of other materials on large‐area substrates. In fact, these are the largest monocrystalline layers of a II‐VI semiconductor material ever grown by any technique.