Vanadium diselenide thin films were prepared by electron beam evaporation. The properties of vanadium diselenide thin films were investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission spectra, electrical and Hall measurements. To further investigate the application of vanadium diselenide thin films, device performance in CdTe solar cells with a vanadium diselenide layer was also studied. The results indicate that vanadium diselenide thin films had a stable hexagonal structure after annealing. The thin films were p-type semiconductor materials with the high work function and high carrier concentration. Vanadium diselenide thin films could form a good ohmic contact to CdTe solar cells. Thus, cell performance was greatly improved when introduced a vanadium diselenide buffer layer. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.