Two techniques employed to assess the elastic properties of sputtered gold thin films are reported and compared in this paper. One is the membrane deflection experiment (MDE) technique that tests freestanding films and the other is a magnetostrictive strip sensor (MSS) that tests films attached to a substrate. The films were sputter-deposited simultaneously at room temperature and thickness was varied from 0.25 mu m to 1.50 mu m. The Young's modulus was measured using both techniques and the results indicated good agreement between them. The MSS test exhibited modulus values in the range of 66 to 77 GPa for all thicknesses and the MDE test was in the range of 68 to 78 GPa. All films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) to assess film microstructure and texture. EBSD results showed an evolution from a mixed texture in the 0.25 mu m thick films to a strong (111) texture at larger film thicknesses; however, the Young's modulus did not appear to be sensitive to the texture variation. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.