Cadmium stannate thin films were prepared by spray pyrolysis technique using cadmium acetate and tin(II) chloride precursors at substrate temperatures 450 degrees C and 500 degrees C. XRD pattern confirms the formation of orthorhombic (111) cadmium stannate phase for the film prepared at substrate temperature of 500 degrees C, whereas, films prepared at 450 degrees C are amorphous. Film formation does not occur at substrate temperature from 300 to 375 degrees C. SEM images reveal that the surface of the prepared Cd(2)SnO(4) film is smooth. The average optical transmittance of similar to 86% is obtained for the film prepared at substrate temperature of 500 degrees C with the film thickness of 400 nm. The optical band gap value of the films varies from 2.7 to 2.94 eV. The film prepared at 500 degrees C shows a minimum resistivity of 35.6 x 10(-4) Omega cm. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.