In this study, undoped and nickel-doped zinc oxide thin films (ZnO:Ni) were deposited on glass substrates using a spray pyrolysis technique. The effects of the Zn concentration in the initial solution and the substrate temperature on the physical properties of the thin films are studied. The results show that the optimum Zn concentration and substrate temperature for preparation of basic undoped ZnO films with n-type conductivity and high optical transparency are 0.02 M and 350 degrees C, respectively. Then, by using these optimized deposition parameters, nickel-doped zinc oxide films are prepared. Surface morphology and crystalline structure of the films are investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffractometer. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show that the films are polycrystalline. The structural analysis shows that all the samples have a hexagonal structure. The crystallite size and the preferred orientation were calculated from the XRD data. From AFM investigations, the surface morphology of the nanostructured films is found to depend on the concentration of Ni. Optical measurements have shown that an increase in the Ni doping results in a reduction in the optical transmission of the layer, but it remains higher than 80% for Ni doping greater than 8 wt%. At the same time, the optical gap increases from 3.4 to 4 eV when the Ni ratio increases. The electrical measurements show that the resistance of the films varies with the duration of pulverization and the nickel content of the film. Low values for the electrical resistivity (around 10(3) Omega cm) were obtained for Ni-doped ZnO thin films. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.