Heteroepitaxial ZnGa₂O₄ thin films grown on sapphire substrates would be preferable for fundamental studies on properties of this material for device applications. To achieve near-stoichiometric ZnGa₂O₄ epitaxial thin films by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), the severe loss of Zn must be overcome. Herein, the fabrication and characterization of epitaxial (111) ZnGa₂O₄ thin films grown on (00.1) sapphire substrates by PLD using a Zn_0.97Ga_0.03O target are reported. A deposition temperature of 750 °C and a laser fluence of 3.5 J cm^-2 are suitable for growing near-stoichiometric ZnGa₂O₄ film. The in-plane orientation relationship is identified to be [1 1 2] ZnGa₂O₄//[11.0] Al₂O₃. A 14.2 nm thick (111) ZnGa₂O₄ epitaxial thin film with a Zn/Ga atomic ratio of about 0.47 shows a narrow full width at half maximum value for the rocking curve of 0.1° and a direct optical bandgap of 4.9 eV.