The theoretical calculation model of relation between film deposition rate and flux of oxygen and RF power about RF reactive magnetron sputtering was advanced;Then,the films were prepared by RF reactive magnetron sputtering in an oxygen and argon atmosphere based on the theoretical calculation model and the requirement of hydrogen production from solar energy;Finally,the films were characterized by stylus surface-roughness detector,XRD,XPS and SEM and the effects of sputtering parameters(oxygen content,working pressure,RF power) on the deposition rate,structure,composition and surface morphology were analyzed.The theoretical calculation model and the existence of Ni3+ were certified in experiments.The relations of structure and thickness fo films,working pressure and surface morphology were obtained.The overpotential is 284 mV at 8 mA/cm2.