Transparent metal oxide thin films of samarium oxide (Sm$_2$O$_3$) were prepared on pre-cleaned fused optically flat quartz substrates by radio-frequency (RF) sputtering technique. The as-deposited thin films were annealed at different temperatures (873, 973 and 1073 K) for 4 h in air under normal atmospheric pressure. The topological morphology of the film surface was characterized by using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The optical properties of the as-prepared and annealed thin films were studied using their reflectance and transmittance spectra at nearly normal incident light. The estimated direct optical band gap energy (E$^{d}_{g}$ ) values were found to increase by increasing the annealing temperatures. The dispersion curves of the refractive index of Sm$_2$O$_3$ thin films were found to obey the single oscillator model.