To investigate on the surface generation mechanism and the influence of milling process of the wave-transmitting Si₃N₄ ceramics,experimental study on the surface topography and edge chipping characteristics,as well as the mapping relationship between machining parameters and cutting force,surface roughness and edge chipping had been carried out.Firstly,the surface morphology of the machined surface had been analyzed.Due to the existence of ceramics powder removal and broken particle removal,the surface topography was characterized by gentle change,while the other contains micro-cracks,layered structures,etc.And there were defects such as pits and grooves.Secondly,the edge chipping shape and its mechanism had been studied. When the tool moves to the edge of the exit,micro-cracks would be generated at the stress concentration of the tool tip and spread to the side of the workpiece,thus causing edge chipping on the machined surface and the side.Finally,the influence of process conditions on the processing performance has been analyzed based on the uniform design experiments.The experimental results show that with the cutting depth increases from 0.2 mm to 0.5 mm and the cutting width increases from 1 mm to 4 mm, the cutting force of the x-axis is coupled growth, and that of of the y-axis increases quadratically.The machining surface roughness value is minimum when the cutting depth is 0.2 mm,the cutting width is 1mm and the feed speed is 500 mm/min,respectively.As the rotation speed is 2 000 r/min, the edge chipping amplitude is the smallest when the cutting depth and the cutting width are the smallest.Machining process control can be implemented to improve the milling surface integrity of the wave-transmitting Si₃N₄ ceramics.