ZnS:Mn thin films were deposited by a radio frequency (rf) ion‐plating technique. The microstructure of the films consisted of a columnar structure and had no dead layer. The grain size was larger than that of films deposited by thermal evaporation. As the dc accelerating voltage increased, the peak intensities of cubic(111) x‐ray diffraction became large and the full widths of half‐maximum (FWHM) decreased somewhat. It is suggested that energies of the ionized and neutral molecules is increased by the dc field. Electroluminescent (EL) properties of the ZnS:Mn thin films prepared by the rf ion‐plating technique have been investigated. As the rf power and the dc accelerating voltage increased, the luminance versus the applied voltage (L–V) curve shifted to lower applied voltage. When the dc accelerating voltage was too large, theL–Vcurve shifted to higher voltage and the maximum luminance decreased because the substrate insulating layer was degraded. The EL device with the ZnS:Mn layer of 1.0 μm thickness luminesced up to 1500 cd/m2(1 kHz) without post‐deposition annealing.