The surface energies for 38 surfaces of FCC metals Cu, Ag, An, Ni, Pd, Pt, Al, Pb, Rh and Ir have been calculated by use of the modified embedded-atom method. The results show that, for all FCC metals, as predicted, the close-packed (1 1 1) surface has the lowest surface energy. The surface energies for the other surfaces increase linearly with increasing angle between the surfaces (h k l) and (1 1 1). This can be used to estimate the relative values of the surface energy. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier B.V.