Nanotechnology has attracted the interest of many industrial sectors and many companies redirecting internal activities to prepare themselves for this new challenge. Nanocrystalline thin films of As2S3 are obtained by a solution growth technique, which is commonly known as chemical bath deposition on glass substrates. The preparative parameters are optimized to synthesize As(2)S(3)thin films in nanometer scale. Further these films are studied for their structural, optical, electrical and surface morphological properties by using sophisticated techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), optical absorption, d.c. two point probe method, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). XRD study confirms monoclinic structure. Nanocrystallinity is evidenced from SEM, AFM and HRTEM studies. Films are highly resistive with semiconducting nature with activation energy 0.15 eV. Stoichiometry of films is studies from EDAX analysis which showed some inclusion of oxygen in the film which is unavoidable for chemically deposited chalcogenide thin films. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.