We report the growth and physical properties of HoCo₂ thin films on Si substrate by pulsed laser deposition. Well-defined Kiessig fringes in the x-ray reflectivity data yield a film thickness of 35 ± 1~nm and demonstrate smooth film surface and interface profiles. Atomic force microscopy confirms the high morphological quality of the films, revealing subnanometer surface roughness of ∼170 pm. Two independently prepared films exhibit a reproducible ferrimagnetic transition at T_C=77±3~K, demonstrating retention of the characteristic magnetic ordering of bulk HoCo₂. However, the absence of resolvable thermal hysteresis indicates a predominantly continuous, second-order like transition in the films, in contrast to the first-order transition of bulk HoCo₂. At 5 K, the films exhibit clear magnetic hysteresis with a coercive field of ∼600 Oe, substantially larger than the negligible coercivity of bulk HoCo₂. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals comparable Ho 4d and Co 2p core-level line shapes and broadly similar valence-band spectra for the bulk and film, indicating preservation of the essential local electronic environment and occupied electronic structure.