The etching of Au thin films has been performed in an inductively coupled $CF_4 / Cl_2 / Ar$ plasma. The etch properties including etch rate and selectivity were examined as $CF_4$ content adds from o to $30\%$ to $Cl_2/Ar$ plasma. The $Cl_2/(Cl_2 + Ar)$ gas mixing ratio was fixed at $20\%$. Other parameters were fixed at an rf power of 700 W, a dc bias voltage of -150 V, a chamber pressure of 15 mTorr, and a substrate temperature of $30^{circ}C$. The highest etch rate of the Au thin film was 370 nm/min at a $10\%$ additive $CF_4$ into $Cl_2/Ar$ gas mixture. The surface reaction of the etched Au thin films was investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The XPS analysis shows that the intensities of Ail peaks are changed, indicating that there is a chemical reaction between Cl and Au. Au-Cl is hard to remove on the surface because of its high melting point. However, etching products can be sputtered by Ar ion bombardment.