Abstract: To assess the details of the chemical etching process of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the current signals during the whole etching process were recorded with the etching apparatus. The background-current was studied, which illustrated that it was mainly determined by the electric capacity of the etching system and was influenced by the thickness of the membrane but not by the temperature. According to the record of the current change during the etching process, it was found that the process can be divided into three phases. The influences of the existence and intensity of the ex-electric field on the breakthrough time and shape of pores were also studied. The existence of ex-electric field could shorten the breakthrough time and shape the pores more close to column. And these two phenomenons could be strengthened as the intensity of the electric field rose, and yet would reach a plateau when the intensity gets near 10 V/cm.