A chemical solution method was used to fabricate Cu-Y-O thin film on the glass substrate. The crystal structures, microstructures, optical properties and antibacterial activities of thin films were characterized and investigated by grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy, transmittance spectra, and antibiotics test. The fabrication process involved the spinning of mixture of the metal nitrite salts solution and poly oxyethylene(10) octylphenyl ether on the glass substrates, followed by a two-step annealing in a furnace. The X-ray diffraction indicated that a single phase of Cu2Y2O5 was obtained at 800 degrees C, while the higher temperature, 900 degrees C, resulted in the mixture of delafossite-type CuYO2 and CuO phases. The bandgap of Cu2Y2O5 was found to be 3.52 eV as per the transmittance spectra in Tauc plot. The best transmission, 80%, was achieved by the transparent thin film coating of 70 nm thick Cu2Y2O5. The antibacterial efficacy of Escherichia coli on Cu2Y2O5 film surface exceeded 99%, demonstrating its potential in the transparent antibacterial coatings. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.