Abstract Thermochromic vanadium dioxide, VO 2 , is a semi-conductor of major interest for energy control applications. Generally, the fabrication of high-quality VO 2 films requires a high deposition temperature over 400 °C which limits its large scale implementation as well as its compatibility with temperature-sensitive substrates. In this work, we demonstrate the deposition of thermochromic VO 2 thin films on flexible polymer substrates using High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS); this process is known for its high degree of ionization, high plasma density and hence high ion flux towards the substrate that allows one to deposit crystalline films at lower temperatures in comparison with conventional sputtering techniques. We first describe the optimization approach of the HiPIMS process followed by the optical performance study of the resulting VO 2 films on Kapton polyimide substrates. The films deposited at temperatures as low as 275 °C are then analyzed by means of temperature-resolved spectrophotometry, XPS, ERD, RBS, Raman spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry. Optimized films show an infrared modulation Δ T 2500 nm of up to 50% with a transition temperature T c close to the bulk temperature of 68 °C.