This study aims to find the optimal cutting conditions, when are IR Detection device HgCdTe is machined with diamond tool of diamond turning machine. Machining technique for HgCdTe with single point diamond turning tool is reported in this paper. The main factors influencing the machined surface quality are discovered and regularities of machining process are drawn. It has been found HgCdTe has more and more important applications in the field of modern optics. The purpose of our research is to find the optimum machining conditions for ductile cutting of HgCdTe and apply the SPDT technique to the manufacturing of ultra precision optical components of brittle materials.