Undoped and Mg-doped ZnO thin films were deposited on Si (111) and quartz substrates by using the sol–gel method. Microstructure, surface topography and water contact angle of the thin films have been measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD), an atomic force microscope (AFM) and water contact angle apparatus, respectively. The XRD results show that all the thin films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal structure and have a preferred orientation along the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. With the increase of Mg concentration, the RMS roughness increases from 2.14 to 9.56 nm and the contact angle of the un-irradiated thin films decreases from 89 to 82. The wetting behavior of the resulting films can be reversibly switched from hydrophobic to hydrophilic, through alternation of UV illumination and dark storage. The light-induced efficiency of the thin films increases with the increase of Mg concentration.