► TCO thin films were grown by PLD on PET substrate at low temperature. ► We found that the quality of TCO on PET substrate depends on the target–substrate distance. ► TCO with high transparency (>95%) and reduced electrical resistivity (∼5×10−4Ωcm) were obtained. ► Optimized TCO films deposited on PET were free of any cracks. The influence of target–substrate distance during pulsed laser deposition of indium zinc oxide (IZO), indium tin oxide (ITO) and aluminium-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films grown on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates was investigated. It was found that the properties of such flexible transparent conductive oxide (TCO)/PET electrodes critically depend on this parameter. The TCO films that were deposited at distances of 6 and 8cm exhibited an optical transmittance higher than 90% in the visible range and electrical resistivities around 5×10−4Ωcm. In addition to these excellent electrical and optical characteristics the films grown at 8cm distance were homogenous, smooth, adherent, and without cracks or any other extended defects, being suitable for opto-electronic device applications.