Abstract: The relationship between the orientations of tetrahedral [WO₄]^2- in tungstate crystals with the scheelite and wolframite structures such as CaWO₄,
PbWO₄, NaBi(WO₄)₂, CdWO₄, ZnWO₄ and FeWO₄, which are all the important scintillation materials, and their morphology was studied from the standpoint
of crystal chemistry, and the formation mechanisms of their morphology were analysed according to the structural orientations of tetrahedral [WO₄]^2-
and the bonding energies between [WO₄]^2- and metal ions [M²⁺ ] during growth. It is shown that the morphology of tungstates is related to the orientations
of structural units [WO₄]^2- and [M---O₆] or [M---O₈] in these crystals and similar to that of sulfates. The structural features of ABO₄ compounds
were compared, and the relationships between structures and growth habits discussed.

Key words: tungstate crystals, scintillation materials, anion coordination polyhedra, crystal chemistry, morphology