SnO 2 thin films prepared by reactive thermal evaporation on glass substrates were subjected to 120 MeV Ag 9+ ion irradiation. The surface topography progression using the swift heavy ion irradiation was studied. It shows creation of unique surface morphologies and regular structures on the surface of the SnO 2 thin film at particular fluences. Field Emission Scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and Atomic force microscopy (AFM) are used for investigating the effect of Ag ions at different fluences on the surface of SnO 2 . The morphological changes suggest that ion assisted/induced diffusion process play a significant role in the evolution of nanostructures on SnO 2 surface. The roughness increases from 9.4 to 14.9 with fluence upto 1 × 10 12 ions/cm 2 and beyond this fluence, the roughness decreases. Ion-beam induced recrystallization at lower fluences and amorphization or disordering of crystals at higher fluences are understood based on the thermal spike model.