CuCr0.97Mg0.03O2 thin films were prepared by direct current magnetron sputtering under various percentage of oxygen flow rate (PO) followed by post-annealed in N-2 atmosphere. The microstructures, optical and electrical properties of the films were investigated. The film deposited in pure Ar atmosphere showed pure CuCrO2 phase, while the films deposited in O-2 and Ar mixture atmosphere showed CuO and CuCr2O4 mixture phase. After post-annealed at 800 degrees C, the films deposited in O-2 and Ar mixture atmosphere turned into c-axis oriented single-phase CuCrO2 which showed much better transparency and electrical conductivity than the film deposited in pure Ar. The film deposited in P-O = 40% with thickness of 350 nm showed the lowest resistivity of 0.4 Omega cm and transmittance over 60% in visible light region. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.