Anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films were deposited on unheated calcium fluoride substrates by DC reactive magnetron sputtering at different oxygen partial pressures and were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Vacuum Ultraviolet Spectroscopy (VUV). Photoabsorption spectra of anatase TiO2 thin films are reported in the energy range 3.9-10.8 eV (320-115 nm). Electronic state assignments have been suggested for each of the observed absorption bands. These thin films show the presence of water which has been confirmed by VUV and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopies. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.