An aqueous solution-based dip-coating technique was presented for ceramic thin film deposition. Organic polymers with amide groups such as polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinyl-acetamide and polyacrylamide, incorporated in aqueous solutions of metal salts, were demonstrated to offer much better wetting of the substrates and gel film formability. Transparent, crack-free TiO2 and ZrO2 thin films of 0.07-0.1 mum in thickness could be obtained from aqueous solutions of Ti(SO4)(2) and ZrCl2O, respectively, containing these organic polymers.