The synthesis of quaternary Cd1-xZnxSySe1-y (0 <= x = y <= 0.35) thin films was done through indigenously developed chemical solution growth process. As-obtained thin films were subjected to the physical, chemical, structural and optical characterizations. The nearly hydrophobic nature of the as-deposited films except binary CdSe was observed through the wettability studies. The colorimetric studies sup ported a change in physical color attributes. The elemental analysis done confirmed the formation of Cd(Zn, S)Se and the chemical states of constituent elements as Cd2+, Zn2+, S2- and Se2-. Structural assessment suggested the formation of the polycrystalline quaternary phase of the hexagonal wurtzite structure. The Raman spectroscopy was also employed for the confirmation studies on Cd1-xZnxSySe1-y thin films. Morphological observations indicated microstructural transformation from an aggregated bunch of nano-sized globular grains into a rhomboid network of petal/flakes like crystallites. The atomic force micrographs (AFM) revealed the enhancement in the hillock structures. From advanced AFM charac terizations, we observed that the CdSe thin film has leptokurtic (S-ku = 3.23) surface, whereas, quaternary Cd(Zn, S)Se films have platykurtic (S-ku < 3) surface. The orientation of the surface morphology was observed through the angular spectrum studies. The optical absorption studies revealed direct allowed transition for the films with a continuous modulation of the energy bandgap from 1.8eV to 2.31 eV. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.