Epilayers of Hg1−xZnxTe 0.16≤x≤0.26, were grown by liquid‐phase epitaxy on CdTe and nearly lattice matched Cd0.76Zn0.2Te substrates. The crystalline, electrical, and optical properties of the epilayers are described. Significant improvement of the epilayer surface morphology and crystallinity was achieved by lattice matching with the substrate. The temperature and composition dependence of the energy band gap in the spectral range relevant to IR photodetection was determined.