The etching rate of some kind of glass decreases with micro-indentation. This paper is concerned chiefly with the mechanism for aluminosilicate glass. The change of glass surface condition arising from the indentation and the etching has been examined with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that the leaching reaction observed through the HF acid etching at non-indented area was restricted at the indented area. The etching rate change should be attributed to the leaching mechanism. (C) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.