Thin films of nanocrystalline SnS 2 on glass substrates were prepared from solution by dip coating and then sulfurized in H 2 S (H 2 S:Ar=1:10) atmosphere. The films had an average thickness of 60nm and were characterized by X-ray diffraction studies, scanning electron microscopy, EDAX, transmission electron microscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The influence of annealing temperature (150–300°C) on the crystallinity and particle size was studied. The effect of CTAB as a capping agent has been tested. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the polycrystalline nature of the films with a preferential orientation along the c-axis. Optical transmission spectra indicated a marked blue shift of the absorption edge due to quantum confinement and optical band gap was found to vary from 3.5 to 3.0eV with annealing temperature. Raman studies indicated a prominent broad peak at ∼314cm −1 , which confirmed the presence of nanocrystalline SnS 2 phase.