We report on structural and optical properties of Mn-doped CdS thin films prepared by 190 keV Mn-ion implantation at different temperatures. Mn-ion implantation in the fluence range of 1× 1013-1× 10 16 ions cm-2 does not lead to the formation of any secondary phase. However, it induces structural disorder, causing a decrease in the optical band gap. This is addressed on the basis of band tailing due to creation of localized energy states and Urbach energy calculations. Mn-doped samples exhibit a new band in their photoluminescence spectra at 2.22 eV, which originates from the d-d (4T1 → 6A 1) transition of tetrahedrally coordinated Mn2+ ions. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.