Abstract The Sol-gel method was used to synthesize Cd-doped ZnO nanoparticles at different doping concentrations. The nanomaterials crystal structure and microstructure were explained by XRD and SEM analysis of the materials. The absorption and transmission spectra were analyzed to explore the optical properties of Cd-doped ZnO thin films. The band gap of nanomaterials decreases from 3.26 to 3.12eV with the increased Cd doping concentration in ZnO. The Cd-doped ZnO shows an increasing trend of electrical parameters, electrical conductivity, and mobility with the increase of Cd concentration in ZnO. The Cd-doped ZnO based MAPbI3 photodetectors show substantial responsivity in the wavelength range of 365 to 635nm. The highest responsivity for devices A, B, and C upon Illumination of 4 mW/cm2 power and 465nm wavelength of light are ~0.192 µA/W, 0.272 µA/W, and 2.1 µA/W respectively. The LDR of the 15% Cd-doped ZnO photodetector is two times higher than 5% concentration of Cd doped ZnO photodetectors. Our studies confirms that the Cd-doped ZnO creates band narrowing and may be used for suitable perovskite photodetector.