Crystalline gamma-MnS thin films were deposited by chemical bath deposition method at 27 degrees C. The MnS thin films were characterized by Xray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and optical absorption spectroscopy. XRD measurements show that the films are crystallized in the wurtzite phase and present a preferential orientation along the c-axis. Only one peak, corresponding to the (002) phase (2 theta = 28.26 degrees), appears on the diffractograms. The X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy calculation of Mn K-edge in MnS is in agreement with the measured result. The deposited MnS thin films on glass substrates consist of nanocrystalline grains. EDAX analysis shows that average ratio of atomic percentage of Mn: S is 1:0.82 so one can conclude that the films are in good stoichiometric ratio. The optical band gap of thin film was estimated to be 3.88 eV (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.