We have investigated the effect of surface roughness of TCO substrate on the characteristics of OLED (organic light emitting diodes) devices. In order to control the surface roughness of AZO thin films, we have processed photo-lithography and reactive ion etching. The micro-size patterned mask was used, and the etching depth was controlled by changing etching time. The surface morphology of the AZO thin film was observed by FESEM and atomic force microscopy (AFM). And then, organic materials and cathode electrode were sequentially deposited on the AZO thin films. Device structure was AZO/${alpha}$-NPD/DPVB/$Alq_3$/LiF/Al. The DPVB was used as a blue emitting material. The electrical characteristics such as current density vs. voltage and luminescence vs. voltage of OLED devices were measured by using spectrometer. The current vs. voltage and luminance vs. voltage characteristics were systematically degraded with increasing surface roughness. Furthermore, the retention test clearly presented that the reliability of OLED devices was directly influenced with the surface roughness, which could be interpreted in terms of the concentration of the electric field on the weak and thin organic layers caused by the poor step coverage.