The oxidation of silicon wafers is an essential step in the fabrication of semiconductor devices. It is known to induce degradation of electrical properties and lattice strain of Si substrate from thermal oxidation process due to charged interface and thermal expansion mismatch from thermally grown SiO, film. In this study, convergent beam electron diffraction technique is employed to directly measure the lattice strains in Si(100) and $4^{circ}$ - off Si(100) substrates with thermally grown oxide layer at $1200^{circ}C$ for three hours. The ratios of {773}-{973}/{773}-{953} Higher Order Laue Zone lines were used at [012] zone axis orientation. Lattice parameters of the Si substrate as a function of distance from the interface were determined from the computer simulation of diffraction patterns. Correction value for the accelerating voltage was 0.2kV for the kinematic simulation of the [012]. HOLZ patterns. The change in the lattice strain profile before and after removal of oxide films revealed the magnitudes of intrinsic strain and thermal strain components. It was shown that $4^{circ}$ -off Si(100) had much lower intrinsic strain as surface steps provide effective sinks for the free Si atoms produced during thermal oxidation. Thermal strain in the Si substrate was in compression very close to the interface and high concentration of Si interstitials appeared to modify the thermal expansion coefficient of Si.