Ba x Sr 1-x RuO 3 (BSRO) thin films were prepared by laser ablation on quartz substrates at a substrate temperature (T sub ) of 973 K and an oxygen pressure (PO 2 ) of 13 Pa. The effect of Ba substitution for Sr on the microstructure and electrical conductivity (s) was investigated. (110)-oriented pseudo-cubic BSRO thin films were obtained at a Ba substitution ratio (x) below 0.5. The thin films prepared at x=0.6 to 0.8 had the 4H-type BaRuO 3 (BRO) structure, whereas 9R BRO thin films were obtained at x=1.0. The BSRO thin films consisted of well-crystallized fine grains. The pseudo-cubic lattice parameter of the BSRO thin films increased linearly from 0.393 to 0.407 with increasing x. The BSRO thin films showed metallic conduction, and the s decreased due to lattice expansion with increasing x. 2008 The Ceramic Society of Japan. All rights reserved.Key-words : Laser ablation, Strontium ruthenate, Barium ruthenate, Thin films, substitution effect, Microstructure, Electrical conductivity [Received November 28, 2007; Accepted February 21, 2008] 1. Introduction SrRuO 3 (SRO) and BaRuO 3 (BRO) are useful materials as conductive paste and electrodes for micro devices because of their excellent high conductivity. 1)-3) Since the lattice parameter of pseudo-cubic perovskite SRO (a=0.393 nm) is close to those of dielectric perovskites such as SrTiO 3 (Pm3m; a=0.391 nm), BaTiO 3 (P4mm; a=0.394 nm, c= 0.395 nm) and Pb(Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 )O 3 (PZT, P4mm; a=0.404 nm, c=4.14 nm), SRO is a promising candidate for use as an alternative conductive oxide electrode replacing metal electrode such as Pt. 4),5) On the other hand, BRO is a hexagonal perovskite. The 9R-type BRO structure (R˜3m: a= 0.575 nm, c=2.161 nm), 6),7) and the 4H-(P6 3 /mmc: a= 0.574, c=0.950 nm) and 6H-type BRO structures (P6 3 / mmc: a=0.574, c=1.405 nm) 8) are constructed from three and two face-sharing RuO 6 octahedra combined with cornersharing RuO 6 octahedra, respectively. 9R BRO is commonly prepared under normal conditions, whereas 4H and 6H BRO might be prepared at high pressures.