Nickel oxide (NiO) thin films were deposited on Si(100) substrates at room temperature by RF magnetron sputtering from a NiO target. The effects of plasma gas and RF power on the crystallographic orientation and surface morphology of the NiO films were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were employed to characterize the deposited film. It was found that the type of plasma gases affected the crystallographic orientation, deposition rate, surface morphology, and crystallinity of NiO films. Highly crystalline NiO films with (100) orientation were obtained when it was deposited under Ar atmosphere. On the other hand, (l11)-oriented NiO films with poor crystallinity were deposited in $O_2$. Also, the increase in RF power resulted in not only higher deposition rate, larger grain size, and rougher surface but also higher crystallinity of NiO films.