Nanocrystalline cadmium sulfide (CdS) thin films were prepared using chemical bath deposition in a solution bath containing $CdSO_4$, $SC(NH_2)_2$, and $NH_4OH$. The CdS thin films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The as-deposited CdS thin film prepared at $80^{circ}C$ for 60 min had a cubic phase with homogeneous and small grains. In the PL spectrum of the 2,900 A-thick CdS thin film, the broad red band around 1.7 eV and the broad high-energy band around 2.7 eV are attributed to the S vacancy and the band-to-band transition, respectively. As the deposition time increases to over 90 min, the PL intensity from the band-to-band transition significantly increases. The temperature dependence of the PL intensity for the CdS thin films was studied from 16 to 300 K. The $E_A$ and $E_B$ activation energies are obtained by fitting the temperature dependence of the PL intensity. The $E_A$ and $E_B$ are caused by the deep trap and shallow surface traps, respectively. From the FTIR analysis of the CdS thin films, a broad absorption band of the OH stretching vibration in the range $3,000-3,600;cm^{-1}$ and the peak of the CN stretching vibration at $2,000;cm^{-1}$ were found.