We have used the Bi(0001)/Si(111) template to grow highly ordered C 60 epitaxial thin films and analyzed them using scanning tunneling microscopy and low-energy electron microscopy. The in situ low-energy electron microscope investigations show that the initial nucleation of the C 60 islands on the surface takes place at surface defects, such as domain boundaries and multiple steps. The in-plane lattice parameters of this C 60 film turns out to be the same as that of the bulk fcc(111) C 60 . The line-on-line epitaxial structure is realized in spite of a weak interaction between the C 60 molecules and Bi(0001) surface, while scanning tunneling spectroscopy indicates that there is a negligible charge transfer between the molecules and the surface.