Mesoporous silica aerogel thin films have been fabricated by dip coating of sol-gel derived silica colloid on gold electrode-patterned alumina substrates followed by supercritical drying. They were evaluated as the sensor elements at relative humidity 20-90% and temperature 15-35 degrees C under ail electrical field of frequency 1-100 kHz. Film thickness and pore structure were two main parameters that determined the sensor performance. The film with a greater thickness showed a stronger dielectric characteristic when moisture abounded, and presented a smaller hysteresis loop and a higher recovery rate, due to the large size of pore throats. As the film thickness decreased, at low humidity the surface conductivity enhanced and the response rate increased. The silica aerogel based humidity sensor can be modeled as an equivalent electrical circuit composed of a resistor and a capacitor in parallel, and is driven by ionic conduction with charged proton carriers. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.