The mechanical response of piezoelectric cantilever beams actuated by sol-gel- derived lead zirconium titanate (PZT) thin film is reported. Small multilayered beams are used to analyse the converse piezoelectric effect and to measure the mechanical deflection of the beams with a standard interferometry method. Interferometric displacement measurements, electrical measurements and finite- element simulations are reported to determine the piezoelectric coefficient d(31) of the PZT thin film.