Magnetic oxide films including europium oxide, yttrium and gadolinium iron garnets, orthoferrites, and ferrites are reviewed from a point of view which stresses the common aspects of oxide film growth and the resulting structural and magnetic properties. The growth techniques of each material are described. They include chemical vapor deposition, sputtering, chemical solution, liquid epitaxy, and evaporation. Problems such as non-stoichiometry, strain, cracking, and substrate-film interaction are discussed for each material. The substrate is found to exert a strong influence on the film quality and generally a better match between film and substrate results in improved films. The magnetic characteristics of the films including the magnetization, coercive force, Faraday rotation, and ferromagnetic resonance linewidth are discussed. In terms of these properties, the films are compared with the corresponding bulk materials. The means of improving magnetic oxide films are considered, and an assessment is made of the possibility of producing thin films whose structural and magnetic properties are comparable with those of bulk material.