In this study, silver-doped titanium dioxide (Ag-TiO2) thin films were prepared co-sputtering technique in order to promote photo-induced antibacterial applications. The highpurity Ag (99.995%) and Ti (99.995%) were simultaneously co-sputtering on BK7 glass and silicon (100) wafers substrate. The structure, morphology, surface roughness and optical properties were characterized by grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and UV-Vis spectrophotometer, respectively. The results showed that the as-deposited Ag-TiO2 thin films had high transparency in the visible range. The antibacterial activity was studied in the presence and in the absence of UV irradiation against Escherichia coli as a model for Gram-negative bacteria. The results indicated that, in comparison to conventional TiO2 films, the Ag-TiO2 thin films exhibited excellent antibacterial properties under the UV illumination. © (2013) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.