Highly [100]-oriented MgO thin films were deposited on Si(100) single crystal substrates by reactive RF magnetron sputtering. The effects of substrate temperature, gas pressure, RF input powder, and gas composition on the characteristics of MgO thin films were studied. The higher substrate temperature and the lower operating pressure were, the better crystallinity of the deposited MgO thin films were. The influences of the RF input power and oxygen to argon ratio were very complex. The physical characteristics of the films changed dramatically with deposition conditions. Highly smooth and epitaxial MgO films were obtained at the deposition conditions as follows; subatrate temperature, $600^{circ}C$; operating pressure, 10 mtorr; RF input power density, 2 W/$ extrm{cm}^2$; the percentage of oxygen, 10%.