Fe-Ag alloy films were deposited by magnetron sputtering. Fe K edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) was performed by synchrotron radiation to evidence the structure of the films. Annealing experiments were carried out to study their stability. The hardness and elastic modulus were measured by nanoindentation. The experimental and calculated XANES spectra both reveal that Fe atoms replace part of Ag atoms and supersaturated fcc Ag (Fe) solid solution alloy films are formed up to 38 at.% Fe. The solid solutions are stable and begin to precipitate at 400 degrees C The elastic modulus increases with the increase of Fe concentration and satisfies the rule of mixtures. The hardness of the as-deposited alloy film is larger than that calculated based on the rule of mixtures. The mechanism responsible for the enhancement of the hardness is discussed in terms of Labusch model of solid solution hardening. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.