Objective To study the controlling effect of a composite cleaning agent on the surface corrosion defects of copper film. Methods Through the single factor experiment, the composition ratio and corresponding cleaning process of the abrasive free composite cleaning agent were optimized. According to the cleaning effect of the scratches and the residual particles on the copper film surface, the cleaning effect of the cleaning agent mentioned above was verified. Results It was confirmed that the copper film achieved the lowest corrosion rate and surface roughness when the volume fraction of metal ion chelating agent was 0. 025% , the surfactant concentration was 0. 1% , the cleaning agent temperature was 30 ℃ , and the cleaning agent flow rate was 3 L/min. The cleaning agent could reduce the values of the scratches and the surface roughness of the copper films, it also showed strong inhibitory effect on the residual particle number of the copper films. Conclusion The optimized composite cleaning agent showed significant modification effects for different types of copper wafer surface defects, which can play a guiding role in improvement of the wafer yield in mass production.