We studied the optical and electrical properties of the amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide thin‐film transistors (a‐IGZO TFTs). To develop a‐IGZO density‐of‐states model, intrinsic a‐IGZO optical properties such as optical band gap and Urbach energy, and TFT characteristics under illumination are investigated. During the a‐IGZO TFTs illumination with the wavelengths ranging from 460 to 660 nm, the off‐state drain current only slightly increases while a large increase was observed for the wavelength below 400 nm. Threshold voltage and subthreshold swing are also only slightly modified between 460 to 660 nm, while field‐effect mobility is almost unchanged in the investigated photon energy range. The observed results are consistent with the a‐IGZO optical energy band gap of about 3.05 eV. This study suggest that the a‐IGZO TFTs are light sensitive above 3.0 eV and photogenerated electrons are more mobile than holes within device channel region.