In order to understand the removal mechanism and seek the optimal processing conditions, KrF excimer laser ablation of Cr films deposited on glass substrates is investigated. The surface morphology of the laser-irradiated spot is examined by scanning electron microscopy, and the ablation rate is also obtained from the energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry of SEM. The measured single-shot ablation rate is found to be about two times the result of numerical analysis based on a surface vaporization model and heat conduction theory. Surface morphology examination indicates that the Cr film is removed by the sequence of cracking-melting-surface vaporization-melt expulsion by plasma recoil, and that the outmost ripple of the diffraction pattern gives a strong effect on the morphology of molten Cr during the melting and vaporization processes. Although removal quality is divided into film damage, partial removal, excellent removal, and glass damage, EDXS shows that about 14% of Cr remains even at the excellent removal condition. Optimal fluence range which gives excellent removal, good precision of pattern size, and few droplets and cracks, is so narrow that the process conditions for patterning should be established carefully. From this study, it is found that thinner films are well ablated by excimer lasers.