Low-temperature (LT) buffer-layer techniques were employed to improve the crystalline quality of ZnO films grown by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE). Photoluminescence (PL) spectra show that CdO, as a hetero-buffer layer with a rock-salt structure, does not improve the quality of ZnO film grown on top. However, by using ZnO as a homo-buffer layer, the crystalline quality can be greatly enhanced, as indicated by PL, atomic force microscopy (AFM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman scattering. Moreover, the buffer layer grown at 450°C is found to be the best template to further improve the quality of top ZnO film. The mechanisms behind this result are the strong interactions between point defects and threading dislocations in the ZnO buffer layer.