In this combined film thickness, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction and optical properties study, we explore the effects of different stirring speeds on the growth and optical properties of ZnS film deposited by CBD method. From the disclosed changes of thickness of ZnS film, we conclude that film thickness is independent of the stirring speeds in the heterogeneous process (deposition time less than 40 min), but increases with the stirring speeds and/or deposition time increasing in the homogeneous process. Grazing incident X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) and the study of optical properties disclosed that the ZnS films grown with different stirring speeds show partially crystallized film and exhibit good transmittance (70-88% in the visible region), but the stirring speeds cannot give much effects on the structure and optical properties in the homogeneous process. (C) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.