II-VI semiconductors form an important class of optoelectronic materials. The elemental and binary II-VI semiconductors have been studied well with respect to their fundamental properties and device applications. However, ternary II-VI films are relatively less investigated. Considering the importance of these films in various optical and electronic devices and their deviation in properties compared with the binary films, in the present article we review the structural, transport and optical properties of CdSe-CdTe thin films. These films possess either the cubic zinc blende or the hexagonal wurtzite structure and hence exhibit a structural phase transition as a function of film composition. They find application in electro-optic devices, electrochemical solar cells and solar control coatings. The electrical properties of these films depend on film and growth parameters such as film thickness, film composition, substrate temperature, deposition rate and ambients.