Magnesium and aluminum doped CdO thin films were deposited on quartz substrate using pulsed laser deposition technique. Magnesium is used to widen the band gap and aluminum is used to increase carrier concentration of CdO films. The effect of growth temperature on structural, optical, and electrical properties was studied. These films are crystalline in nature and their preferred orientation depends on growth temperature. These films are highly transparent (similar to 86%) in visible region. The band gap of the films varies from 3.1 eV to 3.4 eV. The electrical conductivity and carrier concentration were found to decrease with increase in growth temperature. (C) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.