In this study, the optical and electrical properties of a zinc tin oxide (ZTO) thin-film transistor (TFT) were investigated. The TFT was fabricated using ZTO as the active layer, which was deposited by a radio frequency magnetron sputtering system, to form an ultraviolet (UV) photodetector. The device has a threshold voltage of 0.48 V, field-effect mobility of 1.47 cm²/Vs in the saturation region, on/off drain current ratio of 2×106, and subthreshold swing of 0.45 V/decade in a dark environment. Moreover, as a UV photodetector, the device has a long photoresponse time, responsivity of 0.329 A/W, and rejection ratio of 3.19×10⁴ at a gate voltage of -15 V under illumination of wavelength 300 nm.