In this study, acceptor and donor doped TiO2 films on glass as well as silicon substrates were prepared using RF magnetron sputtering. The effects of dopants on the phase formation and microstrucutral evolution of TiO2 films were investigated. TiO2 films with Y2O3 or Nb2O5 doped favor the formation of rutile phase during deposition and the subsequent annealing. Oxygen addition in the sputtering gas seems exaggerate this effect. The deposition rates of the films were significantly reduced by the presence of dopants in TiO2 as well as the addition of O-2 in the sputtering gas. Rutile grains (approximate to10 nm) were typically much smaller in size than anatase grains (approximate to40 nm). Films doped with Y2O3 lead to a smaller rutile grains and reduces the surface roughness. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.