Titania sols were peptized in basic conditions and subsequently refluxed or autoclaved. Thin titania films were subsequently deposited using these sols. The microstructural, morphological, optical, and photocatalytic properties of the films were studied with respect to the sol-gel processing parameters. It is shown that basic peptization conditions lead to room temperature deposition of well crystallized and optical quality films. Consequently, transparent anatase films endowed with good photocatalytic properties could be deposited on polymer substrates. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.