The aim of the present work is to produce and characterise TiAl-(M) (M = Ag, Cr) films with an aluminium content close to 48 at. %. Films with 0.5 < Ag at. % < 4.8 or 0.6 < Cr at. % < 4.6 were deposited onto 304 stainless steel by magnetron sputtering. The as-deposited films are constituted by alternate titanium and aluminium layers which evolve toward the equilibrium gamma-TiAl structure after heat treatment during 1 h. In both cases the films, formed by nanometric grains, are in a non-significant compressive stress state. The intermetallic phase formation is responsible for a hardness increase. Simultaneously, the ductility decreases, confirming the titanium aluminide brittle nature. The mechanical characteristics of the heat-treated films are not significantly influenced by the presence of a third element, though a slight ductility improvement is observed for silver contents close to 1 at.%, while chromium does not improve the ductility of the intermetallic films as generally reported for bulk materials. Silver has a detrimental effect on the oxidation resistance of the thin films. In the presence of chromium the oxidation rate decreases but without weight gain stabilisation as observed for TiAl films at high temperatures (T greater than or equal to 825degreesC).