Undoped and Ni (5 at.%) doped In 2 O 3 thin films were deposited on glass substrate using electron beam evaporation technique and Ni doped In 2 O 3 thin films were annealed at 450 oC. A systematic study was carried out on the structural, chemical and magnetic properties of the as deposited and annealed thin films. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that all the films were cubic in structure and exhibied ferromagnetism at room temperature. The undoped In 2 O 3 thin films exhibited a saturation magnetization of 24.01 emu/cm3. Ni doped In 2 O 3 thin films annealed at 450 oC showed a saturation magnetization of 53.81 emu/cm3. © 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.