HfO2 thin films are widely used in laser system because of its superior optical and mechanical properties, especially high laser induced damage threshold. In this paper, single-layer HfO2 thin films were prepared by APS plasma assisted electron beam evaporation deposition. The effects of oxygen charging of electron gun, baking temperature, discharge current of APS source and bias voltage of APS source on optical properties, surface roughness, standing wave electric filed and laser induced damage threshold of HfO2 thin films were studied by orthogonal experiment. Experiment and analysis results showed that the characteristics of HfO2 thin films are closely related to the oxygen charging of electron gun, baking temperature and APS assisted processing parameters. Especially, baking temperature, oxygen charging of electron gun and bias voltage of APS source have great influence on laser induced damage threshold. Through the analysis of experimental date, the optimal combination of process parameters for APS assisted electron beam evaporation of HfO2 optical films were obtained. © COPYRIGHT SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.