Metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth of nickel-doped zinc oxide (Ni-doped ZnO) thin films on sapphire was investigated. The structural and optical properties were studied. The samples were grown at two substrate temperatures (i.e., 450 and 550 °C) and at three chamber pressures (22, 30 and 100 Torr). The Ni-doped ZnO samples showed the (002) hexagonal crystal structure with signs of secondary phases in X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. However, different XRD peak intensities were observed for these samples at different growth conditions with the same Ni flow rate injection to the reaction chamber. The samples grown at different growth conditions had different optical absorption spectra. Results prove that the growth at a low pressure and temperatures close to the decomposition temperature of the precursors resulted in an optimum dopant incorporation, sharp absorption band edges, and good crystalline quality.