Thin films of MgO are grown by CVD, with a high growth rate, on Si(001) and quartz substrates in the temperature range 400–550 °C, using bis(methylcyclopentadienyl)magnesium Mg(CH3‐C5H4)2 as the precursor. The films obtained are investigated by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and optical absorption, in order to investigate the interrelations between film properties and processing conditions. Cubic phase MgO (periclase) films, characterized by a low carbon contamination and a granular surface morphology, are obtained. Magnesium oxide thin films are grown by MOCVD in the temperature range 400–550 °C using bis(methylcyclopentadienyl)magnesium as precursor, which yields a high growth rate (up to 50 nm/min at 450 °C). The films, characterized by XRD, XPS and AFM analyses, contain the cubic MgO phase (periclase), with carbon contamination limited to the outermost layers and a granular surface morphology with low roughness values.