In this paper, we show that, on the generalized Fock space F p (ϕ) with 1 < p < ∞, the essential norm of a noncompact Toeplitz operator Tμ with |μ| being a Fock-Carleson measure equals its distance to the set of compact Toeplitz operators. Moreover, the distance is realized by infinitely many compact Toeplitz operators. Our approach is also available on the Bergman space setting.Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 47B38; Secondary 32A36, 47G10.