Presently nanocrystalline materials have opened a new chapter in the field of electronic applications, since material properties could be changed by changing the crystallite size and/or thickness of the film. The synthesis of nanocrystalline metal chalcogenide and metal oxide thin films by chemical bath deposition (CBD) method is currently attracting considerable attention as it is relatively inexpensive, simple and convenient for large area deposition. Using CBD and modified CBD (which is also known as successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction, SILAR) methods, a large number of thin films have been deposited. This review is on the status of synthesizing thin films of metal chalcogenide and metal oxides by CBD and SILAR. Properties and applications of the thin films are also summarized. (C) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.