Thin films of tantalum oxide (Ta2O5) have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition technique at different substrate temperatures (300-973 K) under vacuum and under oxygen background (pO(2) = 2 x 10 (3) mbar) conditions. The films are annealed at a temperature of 1173 K. The as-deposited films are amorphous irrespective of the substrate temperature. XRD patterns show that on annealing, the films get crystallized in orthorhombic phase of tantalum pentoxide (beta-Ta2O5). The annealed films deposited at substrate temperatures 300 K and 673 K have a preferred orientation along (0 0 1) plane, whereas the films deposited at substrate temperatures above 673 K show a preferred orientation along (2 0 0) crystal plane. The deposited films are characterized using techniques such as grazing incidence Xray diffraction (GIXRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), micro-Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and UV-visible spectroscopy. FTIR and micro-Raman measurements confirm the presence of Ta-O, Ta-O-Ta and O-Ta-O bands in the films. Grain size calculations from Xray diffraction and AFM show a decrease with increase in substrate temperature. The variation of transmittance and band gap with film growth parameters are also discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.