Changes in the surface morphology and light scattering of textured Al doped ZnO thin films on glass substrates prepared by rf magnetron sputtering were investigated. As-deposited ZnO:Al films show a high transmittance of above 80% in the visible range and a low electrical resistivity of $4.5{ imes}10^{-4}{Omega}{cdot}cm$. The surface morphology of textured ZnO:Al films are closely dependent on the deposition parameters of heater temperature, working pressure, and etching time in the etching process. The optimized surface morphology with a crater shape is obtained at a heater temperature of $350^{circ}C$, working pressure of 0.5 mtorr, and etching time of 45 seconds. The optical properties of light transmittance, haze, and angular distribution function (ADF) are significantly affected by the resulting surface morphologies of textured films. The film surfaces, having uniformly size-distributed craters, represent good light scattering properties of high haze and ADF values. Compared with commercial Asahi U ($SnO_2$:F) substrates, the suitability of textured ZnO:Al films as front electrode material for amorphous silicon thin film solar cells is also estimated with respect to electrical and optical properties.