In this study, Wear of a ceramic cutting tool for hardened STD11 steel was investigated. Under the finish machining condition. DOC notch wear of a ceramic cutting tool was mostly occurred earlier than flank and crater wear were proceeded. The relations of DOC notch wear, which was characteristically produced at the beginning of cutting. to cutting speed, feed, depth of cut, and nose radius of a ceramic cutting tool were examined. Effective approach angle, which is a function of cutting conditions, and boundary area were suggested, and then the influence of those was investigated, The following conclusions were obtained: (1)as cutting speed was increasing. DOC notch wear was decreasing (2) the cutting condition that magnitude of slendermess ratio was made small, was favorable for DOC notch wear, (3) as depth of cut was smaller, the influence of feed on DOC notch wear was also smaller, (4) DOC notch wear was mainly influenced by effective approach angle, but by boundary area in the range of low feed.