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The present work reports the impact of RF sputtering power on CdO:ZnO (3:1) nanocomposite thin films deposited by sputtering. The structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of CdO:ZnO thin films deposited at 40 W, 60 W, 80 W and 100 W RF sputtering power were investigated. The structural and morphological results show that high sputtering power improves the crystallinity of thin films. The thin film deposited at 80 W has (111) and (002) phases corresponding to mixed cubic and wurtzite crystal structure, whereas surface morphology of 100 W thin film shows that particles are densely agglomerate. The energy-dispersive x-ray spectrum shows the presence of Cd and Zn atoms in the CdO:ZnO nanocomposite samples. The films show 75–85% transparency in the visible region and a large variation in optical bandgaps from 2.6 eV to 3.5 eV was observed for the samples deposited at 40–100 W with lowest value for the 80 W thin film. I–V characteristics of all the CdO:ZnO thin films show an ohmic nature and resistance varies from 104 Ω to 109 Ω, suitable for resistive based gas sensor. The optimized thin film of CdO:ZnO deposited at 80 W was used for oxygen gas sensing applications 25–200°C operating temperatures and 25.4% sensor response was observed. The response and recovery times were found 10–20 s. Overall study reflects appreciable impact of RF sputtering power on different parameters under investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]