HfO2 thin films were prepared by electron beam evaporation.The residual stress was measured by viewing the substrate deflection using ZYGO interferometer. The microstructure of the HfO2 thin films was inspected by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that the stress is tensile and the value of the residual stress decreases with the increase of the thin film thickness, and residual stress becomes stable when the film thickness reaches a certain value. The interplanar distance of the thin film increases with the increase of the thin film thickness, which is corresponding to the variation of the residual stress. The evolution of the residual stress may be due to the variation of the microstructure as the increasing of the thin film thickness.