Al and Mn co-doped-ZnO films have been prepared at room temperature by DC reactive magnetron sputtering technique. The optical absorption coefficient, apparent and fundamental band gap, and work function of the films have been investigated using optical spectroscopy, band structure analyses and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). ZnO films have direct allowed transition band structure, which has been confirmed by the character of the optical absorption coefficient. The apparent band gap has been found directly proportional to N2/3, showing that the effect of Burstein-Moss shift on the band gap variations dominates over the many-body effect. With only standard cleaning protocols, the work function of ZnO: (Al, Mn) and ZnO: Al films have been measured to be 4.26 and 4.21eV, respectively. The incorporation of Mn element into the matrix of ZnO, as a relatively deep donor, can remove some electrons from the conduction band and deplete the density of occupied states at the Fermi energy, which causes a loss in measured photoemission intensity and an increase in the surface work function. Based on the band gap and work function results, the energy band diagram of the ZnO: (Al, Mn)film near its surface is also given.