This paper presents a study of the optical properties and chemical composition of laser-induced color oxynitride films formed on titanium substrates in a normal-pressure atmospheric environment. The samples were investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The influence of the laser fluence F on the optical properties of oxynitride films has been found. The thickness of the layers ranges from similar to 20 nm to similar to 40 nm and increases linearly with F. The determined complex dielectric functions demonstrate two absorption bands, one of them appears in the visible-light wave-length range. We show that the color created by oxynitride films formed on the titanium surface depends not only on the interference effect as commonly assumed, but is also a function of the changes of the optical properties of these coatings. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.