The switching kinetics in epitaxial (001)-, (110)-, and (111)-oriented BiFeO ₃ thin films were investigated as a function of applied field and time. It was found that the ferroelectric switching behavior obeys the Kolmogorov–Avrami–Ishibashi theory only in the high field range. The detailed behavior depends on the film orientation. A comparison with standard systems, such as epitaxial Pb ( Zr _0.2 Ti _0.8) O ₃ films, reveals some similarities as well as some differences. For instance, the presence of 109° and 71° ferroelastic domain walls might be ruled out as the source of the decrease in switched polarization at low applied fields, in contrast to what is the case for a/c domain walls in tetragonal Pb ( Zr _0.2 Ti _0.8) O ₃ .