The purpose of this paper is to investigate the surface roughness of glass ionomer cement during initial setting time followed by applying surface coating agent. No other finishing or polishing procedure is done and each surface coating agents (varnish, adhesive, gloss, sealant) are used after filling of glass ionomer cement. Surface roughness indices(Ra) are measured and surface contours are obtained electronically by Surfcorder SEF-30D(Kosaka laboratory Ltd., Japan). The results are as follows: 1. During initial setting time, surface roughness increases slightly regardless of surface coating agents. But it is statistically insignificant. (p>0.05) 2. Among surface coating agents used, Ra indices of group using varnish are high significantly compared to other groups regardless of elapsed time.(p<0.05) Among the groups which has used other surface coating agents except for the varnish group, similar Ra index all over the experiment is obtained, when compared to control group (no agent). 3. If no surface treatment is performed, tri-cure glass ionomer cement (Vitremer) has higher Ra Index than light cure glass ionomer cement (Fuji II LC) (t<0.05). But there is no difference between two groups in Ra index if any kinds of agents are applied except for sealant. (t>0.05)