Abstract: TiO₂ thin films doped with Eu³⁺ were synthesized by the sol-gel process. The influence of annealing temperature on the physical properties was analyzed using different characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction, SEM analysis and photoluminescence. The photoluminescence emission spectra showed that the PL intensity of the TiO₂: Eu³⁺ films increased with the annealing temperature rising, and reached the maximum at 550 ℃. The X-ray diffraction revealed that the (101) diffraction peaks of TiO₂ were very strong, and have the best orientation at 550 ℃.