Dry etching of the magnetic thin films such as Ta, Fe, Co, NiFe, NiFeCo, and MnNi was carried out in inductively coupled plasmas of Cl₂/Ar mixture. All the magnetic materials went through a maximum etch rate at 25% Cl₂. The effects of the ICP source power and the rf chuck power on the etch rate and the surface roughness were quite dependent of the materials. An ion-enhanced chemical etch mechanism was important for the magnetic films. The surface roughness of the etched samples was relatively constant of the rf chuck power up to 200W, but a rougher surface at a higher rf power was obtained. Post-etch cleaning of the etched samples in de-ionized water reduced the chlorine residues substantially.