Well-crystallized SrMoO 4 thin films were synthesized directly on a molybdenum substrate by a non-reversible galvanic cell method through 150h electrochemical reaction at room temperature. The as-synthesized thin films are a single phase SrMoO 4 with a scheelite-type structure and show uniform and homogeneous surfaces. When excited by 290nm ultraviolet ray at room temperature, the thin films emit the maximum peaks at 485nm. The densification, chemical–physical and photoluminescence properties of the SrMoO 4 thin films synthesized by the non-reversible galvanic cell method are significantly improved.