In the present work we report ferric oxide (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) and conducting polyaniline–ferric oxide (PANI–Fe2O3) composite thin films prepared using simple electrodeposition technique. The structural and morphological analysis was carried out by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The supercapacitive properties of these films were examined using cyclic voltammetry, charge–discharge studies, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in 0.5 M Na 2 SO 4 electrolyte. It is observed that the PANI–Fe2O3 composite electrode delivered higher specific capacitance than individual α-Fe 2 O 3 . Also the composite thin film electrode exhibits excellent specific capacitance retention of about 87 % over 1000 CV scan cycles as compared to α-Fe 2 O 3 electrode, which exhibits only 84 % retention capacity.