In this work, thin lead zirconate titanate, Pb[Zr[Formula: see text]Ti[Formula: see text]]O3 (PZT) films have been developed from a novel sol–gel route. The sol–gel films were deposited by spin coating method. Isopropanol-based solution was used for its less toxic property. Gold (Au), platinum (Pt) and indium tin oxide (ITO) were used as substrates. Homogeneous polycrystalline films with (110) preferred orientation were obtained from all the films. The films behaved as ferroelectric material where dielectric constant at 0[Formula: see text]V for the films obtained from Au, Pt and ITO substrates were 484, 770 and 655, respectively. The coercive field values were around 10–15[Formula: see text]KV/cm which revealed that the films were soft ferroelectric.