This paper reports the laser Doppler vibrometry based measurement of the magnetostriction in magnetic thin films. Using this method, the strain induced by an AC magnetic field in the polycrystalline cobalt ferrite and nickel ferrite thin films grown on silicon and platinized silicon substrates was measured under a DC magnetic bias. The experimental setup and the derivation of the magnetostriction constant from the experimentally measured deflection values are discussed. The magnetostriction values derived using force and bending moment balances were compared with that derived from an industry standard relationship. In addition, we corroborate our approach by comparing the values derived from bending theory calculations of magnetically induced torque to those from measurements using Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM). At high DC magnetic field bias, the magnitude of magnetization calculated from the measured magnetostriction was found to match the measured magnetization by VSM. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.