The influence of fictive temperature on the polishing characteristics of amorphous silicon dioxide films was studied. Amorphous materials, in general, can have different properties depending upon their thermal history, and this is attributed to a difference in their fictive temperature, the temperature at which the supercooled liquid structure freezes into a glass. Amorphous silicon dioxide films ca. 2 mum thick, were prepared by wet thermal oxidation, dried, and then heat-treated to have different fictive temperatures. Indentation testing of similarly heat-treated silica glasses, done using nanoindentation and a Knoop microhardness indenter, showed that the glass with a higher fictive temperature had a higher hardness. On the other hand, the chemical etch rate in dilute hydrofluoric acid was faster for the silica glass with the higher fictive temperature. Polishing of the silicon dioxide films using cerium oxide slurry under identical conditions showed that the polishing rate was higher for the oxide films with a lower fictive temperature. Hence, it was suggested that the mechanical properties of the glass were more important than chemical properties in controlling the polishing behavior of amorphous silicon dioxide.