Cadmium selenide (CdSe) films were synthesized on glass substrates via chemical surface deposition (CSD) and chemical bath deposition (CBD) methods. Aqueous solutions of cadmium chloride, thiourea, sodium selenosulfate, trisodium citrate and ammonia hydroxide were used. Theoretical calculations of the boundary conditions for the formation of cadmium selenide and cadmium hydroxide were carried out in the cadmium-selenosulfate and cadmium-selenosulfate-citrate-ammonia systems. The phase composition, optical transmission spectra and surface morphology of deposited CdSe films were investigated. According to the X-ray analysis, the film samples are single phase and consist of CdSe compound in its typical cubic modification. The film surface is solid, smooth and has a small number of surface defects. The optical transmission of CdSe films increases in the investigated wavelength area from 340 to 900 nm. The transmission curves have bends in the 650 nm region, which is typical for cadmium selenide. The optical band gap values of CdSe films are found to be in the range of 1.82-1.88 eV.