Upon $UV/O_3$ irradiation cellulose acetate (CA) films showed modified surface properties such as increased hydrophilicity and surface roughness as well as increased dyeability to cationic dyes. UV treatment induced photoscission of acetyl groups in the main chain of CA resulting in decreased degree of substitution from 2.2 to 1.3. The slight decreases in reflectance and transmittance were caused by remarkably increased nano-scale surface roughness of the CA surface as much as 20-fold, which can destructively interfere with visible lights of wavelength lower thu 500nm. Water contact angle decreased from $54^{circ};to;14^{circ}$ with increasing UV energy. Surface energy also increased slightly. The surface energy change was attributed to significant contribution of polar component rather than nonpolar component indicating surface photooxidation of CA film. The increased dyeability to cationic dyes in terms of both K/S and %E may be due to photochemically introduced anionic and dipolar dyeing sites on the film surfaces.