The structural and luminescence related optical behaviours of Au ion implanted ZnO films grown by magnetic sputtering and their post implantation annealing behaviours in the temperature range of 100-700 degrees C have been investigated. Optical absorption and transmittance spectra of the films indicate that band edge of Au-implanted ZnO has shifted to high energy range and optical band gap has increased, because the sharp difference of thermal expansion induces the lattice mismatch between ZnO and SiO2. PL spectra reveal that UV and visible luminescence bands of ZnO films can be improved after thermal annealing due to recovery of defects and Au ions incorporation. Importantly, green luminescence band of 530 nm has been only observed in the Au-implanted and subsequently annealed ZnO films and it enhances with the increasing annealing temperature, which can be related to Au atoms or clusters in ZnO films. Furthermore, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements reveal that the Au-0 is dominant state in Au implanted and annealed ZnO films. Possible mechanisms, such as optical transitions of Au atoms or clusters and deep level luminescence of ZnO, have been proposed for green emission. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.