The dependence of the magnetic properties, crystallographic structure, morphological structure and recording characteristics on the angle of incidence were studied on the obliquely evaporated thin Co-O films. The preferred c-axis orientation angle of Co in Co-O films is almost equal to the minimum incident angle( e min), because the growth at the initial deposition stage around the maximum incident angle( emax) is very thin and has little magnetization due to oxidization. The Co-O film deposited at emin of 40· exhibits a maximum output at a recording density of 100kFCI, which is higher by 5dB than that of ME tape for a high-band 8mm VCR.