Lanthanum modified lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) thin films were fabricated on indium doped tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass substrate by sol-gel method. The structure of the films was characterized with XRD and SEM. In the case of PLZT the dielectric function was modelled as a sum of Lorentzian oscillators and found by fitting the transmittance and reflectance spectra measured at normal incidence in the wavelength range of 220-2400 nm. The anomalous behaviour of dielectric function was observed below the absorption edge that was suggested to be due to formation of some defect states. The evolution of the absorption edge as well as dielectric function with film thickness was observed and discussed.