The Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin film possesses excellent photoelectric properties that enable it to act as an ideal transparent conductor. To obtain high-quality ITO films through sol-gel method, the ionic surfactant monoethanolamine and the non-ionic surfactant polyethylene gly-col (PEG) were added to the ITO precursor slurry. The influences of surfactants on the structural and photoelectric properties of ITO film samples were investigated. XRD patterns indicated that surfactant monoethanolamine contributed to film predominant grain orientation along the (400) plane. The high transmittance (over 95%) was attributed to the preferred orientation and the grain size expansion of ITO films. SEM showed that the surface particle size and the morphology of ITO films were strongly dependent on the kind of surfactants used. Moving to the shortwave region, the absorption edge of the films exhibited the Burstein-Moss shift.