Aluminum-doped Zinc Oxide (AZO) transparent conductive thin films were prepared by RF sputtering and surface-textured AZO transparent conductive thin films were obtained by using ion etching. Effects of ion etching on the optical, electrical and structural properties of the films were investigated. A slight decrease was found in transmittance, but the transmittance is still more than 80% in the visible spectrum. The resistivity increased slightly, but still at the 10-3.·cm level, the minimum resistivity is 2.91×10-3.·cm. The surface topography changed noticeably after ion etching. Most films show "pit-like" structure, lateral dimensions in the 0.5～1.0 μm, opening angle 120° or so, and Root Mean Square (RMS) roughness increased from 7.29 nm to 36.64 nm. The films have good surface micro-structure, and show a good prospect as solar cells front-electrode.