Magnetic iron oxide films were successfully deposited on heated fused‐quartz substrates via the plume generated by the excimer laser ablation of poly(ferric methacrylate), an organometallic polymer, in an oxygen atmosphere. The investigation for the deposited films by means of x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, x‐ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy demonstrates that these films consist of iron‐rich Fe3O4and &agr;‐Fe2O3phases that are made up of ball‐like grains with nanometer‐size structure. Magnetic hysteresis loop of the deposited film was also measured. The values of saturation magnetization, remanence magnetization, and coercivity are 35.6 emu/cm3, 6.13 emu/cm3, and 200 Oe, respectively. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.