Thin films of the semiconducting compound GaSe have been prepared by the three-temperature method (two-source vacuum evaporation) and deposited onto Pyrex substrates at temperatures between 230° and 290°C. Micrographs and X-ray diffraction analysis of the thin films have shown that they are poly-crystalline. The diffraction maxima have been indexed in terms of a hexagonal lattice of GaSe with unit cell dimensions a = 3.76 A ̊ and c = 15.95 A ̊ . Very strong and sharp 00 l peaks indicate a highly preferred orientation of the crystallites with their c-axis normal to the plane of the film. The electrical resistivity versus temperature behaviour has revealed intrinsic conduction above 130°C with an activation energy equal to 1.88 eV. The optical energy gap value determined from transmission data has been found to be approximately 2.0 eV, which is close to the value obtained for a single-crystal specimen. The exciton peak found in the absorption spectrum of the GaSe single crystal at 2.002 eV is not present in the case of thin films.