Roughness of an end surface portion of a step shape can be decreased. An etching method includes a first etching process and a second etching process. In the first etching process, etching is performed on a processing target object, which has a silicon-containing film thereon and a photoresist formed on a surface of the silicon-containing film and which is placed in a processing vessel, to etch the silicon-containing film by using the photoresist as a mask. In the second etching process, a first processing gas containing oxygen and halogen is supplied into the processing vessel, or a third processing gas containing the oxygen is supplied into the processing vessel after a second processing gas containing the halogen is supplied into the processing vessel. The first etching process and the second etching process are repeated a multiple number of times.