Cd0.77Mn0.23Te thin films deposited by vacuum evaporation on various substrates have been studied for their structural, optical and magnetic properties. Whereas both the cubic and hexagonal phases coexist at low him thickness, only the hexagonal phase is present in the large thickness films, irrespective of the nature of the underlying substrate. The films have a band gap of approximate to 1.8 eV, are smooth and semi-transparent with a brownish colour, and have a shiny appearance. The ellipsometric measurements of the dielectric function in the 1.3 eV to 5.5 eV range show E(0), E(0)+ Delta(0), and E(1) transitions of zinc blende type semiconductors. The a.c. susceptibility measurements performed in the temperature range 300 K to 70 K indicate the films to be paramagnetic.