In this paper, we investigated the etching characteristics of the TaN thin films and the surface reaction of TaN thin films after etching process. The etching characteristics of the TaN thin films were carried out using inductively coupled plasma (ICP). The etch rate and the selectivity of TaN to $SiO_2$ and TaN to PR were measured by varying the gas mixing ratio, RF power, DC-bias voltage, and process pressure in CF-based plasma. The surface reaction of TaN thin films were determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).