Laser damage studies at 248 nm (KrF excimer laser) have been performed on HfO2 films of 300 nm thickness deposited on silica substrates by the Xe ion-assisted electron beam evaporation technique. The assistance parameters (ion mass, energy and current density) have been adjusted to investigate the effect of the Xe-ion momentum transfer parameter P on the film optical and structural properties. Then, the dependence of laser damage fluence on film properties has been studied. Higher laser damage fluences have been found for the HfO2 films deposited at lower P values and characterized by a fully crystalline structure with the grain of smaller size and randomly oriented.