In this paper, the development of a precision CNC lathe prototype for mirror surface machining is presented. To obtain high precision machining accuracy, a hydrostatically supported precision spindle and a sliding guideway with turcite pad are adopted as the motion elements. The machining accuracy of the prototype machine, and the motional accuracy of its motion elements are tested and evaluated to confirm the validity of the application of these elements on the prototype. The hydrostatic spindle shows 0.09 .mu. m of rotational accuracy and the guideway shows about 0.8 .mu. m/170mm of horizontal straightness. The sur- face roughness of cupper and aluminium cylinder machined by the prototype machine with diamond tool are 0.07 .mu. m and 0.10 .mu. m Rmax respectively. From these results, it is verified that the prototype lathe is avail- able for high precision machining.