In this article the magneto-optics of magneto-optical (M-O) layered structures have been studied theoretically and experimentally. For the air/M-O/air configuration, an analytic expression between the apparent complex Faraday rotation and the eigenvalue&fgr;˜F=e1&fgr;˜F′can be obtained, when the M-O layers are semitransparent and weakly magnetic. The interference factore1is a function of the optical constants and the M-O layer thicknessd, and the light wavelength. In these structures, the apparent Faraday rotation consists of two parts. One oscillates as a function of the M-O layer thickness and the other is proportional to the layer thickness. The oscillation period and the amplitude are determined by the optical constants of the M-O layers. For the air/M-O/reflector configuration, the Kerr rotation&fgr;˜koscillates as a function of the M-O layer thickness and approaches a constant as the thicknessd→∞. If the M-O layers are semitransparent and weakly magnetic, the apparent Kerr rotation can be expressed as&fgr;˜k=e2&fgr;˜F′.For ultrathin metallic magnetic bilayered films the Kerr rotation is proportional to the M-O layer thickness and the enhancement factor is a function of the optical constants of the M-O layer and NM reflector. The magneto-optics of a Co spinel ferrite film, Co/Cu, Fe-Ni/Cu, and Co/Si structures have been studied experimentally. ©1997 American Institute of Physics.