Highly crystalline Au-VO2 nanocomposite thin films were prepared on Corning glass substrates by reactive radiolfrequency inverted cylindrical magnetron sputtering (ICMS). It is a low cost potential coating technology for the production of large area uniform nanocomposite thin films exhibiting plasmonic properties. This paper reports the synthesis and feasibility of reliably reproduced high quality of Au-VO2 by ICMS. Structural, morphological, interfacial analysis and optical properties of synthesized Au-VO2. nanocomposite thin films are reported. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.