A study of thermal and electrical behavior of some silica-containing poly(ether imide) films is presented. The hybrid films were prepared using a poly(amic acid) having phthalide groups and tetraethoxysilane via sol-gel technique and thermal cyclodehydration. Effects of inorganic particle content on polymer composite properties were investigated. Thermal and electrical characteristics of hybrid films were evaluated with respect to their structure. The films were flexible and showed good thermal properties having the initial decomposition temperature above 400 degrees C and glass transition temperature in the range of 240-248 degrees C. The dielectric spectroscopy revealed subglass transitions delta, gamma, and beta. At higher temperature, an alpha-relaxation corresponding to the glass transition and the normal mode appeared. The dielectric constant values were in the range of 3.21-3.64 at 20 degrees C and 10 kHz. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 51:2304-2313, 2011. (C) 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers