In this work, PVA/Ag nanocomposites films were prepared using solution casting technique, these films were irradiated with Argon ion beam to modify the structure. The main objective of the study is to enhance the optical and electrical properties of the polymer nanocomposites films by irradiation. The conventional characterization techniques such as UV–Visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and dielectric measurement are employed to understand the structure–property relations. FTIR analysis of these composite films shows chemical changes and a significant impact on them can be observed after irradiation. After doping, the XRD data shows silver nanoparticles formation in the PVA polymer. The band gap energy of samples is decreased with increases in the concentration of silver nanoparticles and ion beam fluence, which gives clear indication that ion beam irradiation induced defects are formed in the composite systems. The electrical conductivity, dielectric loss [Formula: see text] and dielectric constant [Formula: see text] are increased with increasing ion beam fluence and Ag dopant concentration.