Nanostructured thin films synthesized by assembling atoms or clusters present a structure characterized by a modulation at the nanoscale and by a large effective area, which can be exploited for the tailoring of specific structural or electronic properties. These systems are appealing for functional applications, e.g. in sensing and catalysis. We have investigated the deposition of tungsten and tungsten oxide thin films with a wide range of morphologies by exploiting nanosecond pulsed laser deposition (PLD) in an inert background atmosphere (He, At and Kr). We show that the non-dimensional ratio of the target-to-substrate distance to the time integrated visible plume length, which depends on the gas mass and pressure and on the substrate position, permits to select morphologies ranging from a compact structure with a density similar to bulk, to a film with an open, low density foam-like mesostructure and a high fraction of voids. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.