This work aims to study the processing properties of the monolayer abrasive sol-gel polishing pad, thereby providing a solution for improving abrasive utilization and reducing the damage of abrasive to gel matrix. The self-made force measuring device was used to study the interfacial bonding strength between abrasive and matrix. The effects of abrasive size and coupling agent on interfacial bonding strength were analyzed, also the effects of abrasive size and matrix thickness on abrasive adhesion were studied. The monolayer abrasive polishing pad and the conventional multilayer abrasive polishing pad were conducted to process silicon carbide substrate under the wet and dry polishing conditions respectively, and the material removal rate, surface roughness and wear condition of polishing pads were analyzed. The results showed that the interfacial bonding strength of 200/230 mesh diamond abrasive was more than four times than that of 80/100 mesh, and the interfacial bonding strength of 80/100 mesh diamond abrasive was increased by 75% after adding coupling agent. The structure of gel matrix was easily destroyed by coarse-grained W40 multilayer abrasives, but not damaged by fine-grained W5 monolayer abrasives. The coating thickness of gel matrix of monolayer abrasive pad should be less than 0.6 mm. Under the condition of wet polishing, the processing performance of monolayer abrasive pad was similar to multilayer abrasive pad. The material removal rate of monolayer abrasive pad was 11.5% higher than that of multilayer abrasive pad under the condition of dry polishing. Whether in wet or dry polishing conditions, the wear resistance of monolayer abrasive pad was obviously stronger than that of multilayer abrasive pad. Therefore, the monolayer abrasive sol-gel polishing pad had the same processing properties as the multilayer abrasive one under wet polishing condition. However, the processing ability and service life of the monolayer abrasive tool were remarkably better than that of the multilayer abrasive tool under the condition of dry polishing.