Polycrystalline films of Bi2S3 compound have been prepared, at substrate temperature of 570K, from Bismuth chloride (BiCl3) and Thiourea (CS (NH2)(2)) solutions. The structural characterisation has been carried out by the X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). Study of optical properties shows that Bi2S3 compound has an allowed indirect transition at 1.43 eV energy. The photoelectrical parameters (diffusion length and lifetime) have been determined from the study of the photoconductivity. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.