In the present work, iron doped TiO2 films were prepared by sol-gel method. An extensive study by varying the dopant quantity (0, 0.7, 1.4, 5 % wt Fe2O3 related to TiO2 the type of substrate (glass or ITO coated glass) and annealing temperature (300 and 500 degrees C) was performed. The sol-gel process evolution was studied by viscosity measurements and the unsupported gels were analyzed by thermal analysis (DTA/TGA) and IR spectroscopy. The deposited films were characterized by spectroellipsometry (SE). The catalytic activity of the films was determinate by measuring the degradation rate of the salicylic acid used as a model organic substance. A complex influence of the investigated parameters on the photocatalytic properties of the TiO2 based films was established.