In this report, we have studied the compositional dependence of structural, optical and electrical properties of polycrystalline In x Ga 1-x N thin films grown by modified activated reactive evaporation. The growth was monitored by optical emission spectroscopy. The thickness of the films was in the range ∼600-800 nm. The phase, crystallinity and composition of the films were determined by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The surface morphology was studied by atomic force microscopy. The band gaps of these films obtained from transmittance and photoluminescence measurements were found to vary from 1.88 to 3.22 eV. All the films show n-type conductivity. The carrier concentration was found to be decreasing with increase in gallium incorporation which is in good agreement with the free carrier absorption observed in transmittance spectra. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.