Detailed studies on the effects of femtosecond laser ablation on surface characteristics and subsurface microstructure of amorphous FeCuNbSiB alloy are reported. Three types of ripple structures were observed on the material surface in the gentle ablated (damaged) zone. As observed with Xray diffraction (XRD), amorphous form is kept in the damaged zone, and there is few crystallization form in ablation zone. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.