The ZrO2 thin film was investigated with the surface characteristics of ZrO2 thin films etched in the HBr/SF6 using Adaptively Coupled Plasma (ACP) system. The plasmas were characterized using optical emission spectroscopy (OES) analysis. The crystal structure of the films etched with various gases mixing ratio was observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). These results can indentify the ion bombardment and chemical reaction for plasma damages at the crystalline structure of the ZrO2 surface. The chemical reactions of the etched ZrO2 films were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AR-XPS). The etching mechanism of ZrO2 thin films could be explained as which Zr interacted with the Br and F radical by adding HBr, but remained at the surface due to non-volatility of ZrFx and ZrBry. From the experimental results, the etch mechanism of ZrO2 was ion-assisted chemical reaction. (C) 2011 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/2.040202jes] All rights reserved.