Ni films thinner than 180 nm are deposited on MgO(001) substrates at a temperatureTsof 190 or 280 °C by dc sputtering at 2.5 kV in Ar gas. A dc bias voltageVsbetween 0 and ‐140 V is applied to the substrate during the deposition. A study of structural and physical properties of the Ni film is made by the use of reflection high‐energy electron diffraction (RHEED), cross‐sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM), x‐ray reflection diffraction (XRD), Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), and by measuring (TCR) in the temperature range from 35 to 135 °C. WhenTs=190 °C the Ni film retains a polycrystalline structure at anyVs. WhenTs=280 °C, asVsincreases from 0 to −140 V the film transforms from the polycrystal to the single crystal with the orientation as Ni(001)∥MgO(001) and Ni〈010〉∥MgO〈010〉, indicating that an optimal value ofVsfor the epitaxial growth ranges from −80 to −110 V. Besides, an analysis of RBS spectra in comparison with XTEM images explains that the atomic density of the Ni film is the highest atVs=−80 V. The optimal condition for the epitaxial growth is also confirmed by the change of TCR as a function ofVs. In conclusion, the epitaxial growth of the Ni film with the lower defect density is dominated atVs=−80 to −110 V by the bombardment of both energetic ions and fast neutrals of Ar to increase the mobility of Ni adatoms and to resputter impurities during the film formation. This effect is pronounced atTs≥280 °C.