Nickel oxide (NiO) thin films were prepared on Si(100) substrates at room temperature by RF magnetron sputtering using a NiO target. The effects of oxygen flow ratio for the plasma gas on the preferred orientation and surface morphology of the NiO films were investigated. Highly crystalline NiO film with (100) orientation was obtained when it was deposited in pure Ar gas. For NiO film deposited in pure O$_2$ gas, on the other hand, the orientation of the film changed from (100) to (111) and its deposition rate decreased. The origin of the preferred orientation of the films was discussed. NiO films also showed different surface morphologies and roughnesses with the oxygen flow ratio.