Cashew nut testa, a by-product of cashew nut processing, is abundant in phenolic compounds and exhibits strong antioxidant properties, making it a potential additive for enhancing the antioxidant properties of biodegradable films used in food packaging. This study explores the fabrication of biodegradable chitosan/PVA polyvinyl alcohol films incorporating varying concentrations of cashew nut testa extract (CNTE; 0%, 1%, 2%, and 3% v : /v) and evaluates their physical, structural, mechanical, optical and antioxidant properties. The results demonstrate that increasing extract concentration generally increased the thickness, tensile strength, Young's modulus, thermal stability, and antioxidant capacity of the films, while reducing the moisture content, swelling degree, elongation at break, and light transmittance. Specifically, the film with 3% extract showed approximately 11% lower moisture content and 31% lower swelling degree compared with the plain film. It also displayed the highest tensile strength and yYoung's modulus at 28.63 MPa and 147.335 MPa, respectively. Microstructural analysis revealed that the incorporation of cashew nut testa extract CNTE resulted in a smoother and slightly denser film structure. The antioxidant activity, determined by DPPH ((2,2-Ddiphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) (DPPH) scavenging assay, was not detected in the plain film but increased with increasing extract concentration. The film with 3% cashew nut testa extract CNTE exhibited the highest antioxidant activity of 58.93 µmol TE/Trolox equivalents (TE) g⁻¹ film. This study highlights the potential of cashew nut testa extractCNTE as an effective edible additive for developing antioxidant and UV ultraviolet barrier films with improved mechanical strength and water resistance for food packaging applications.