A wafer processing method including a fixing step of providing a wafer on a protective member so that a device area of the wafer faces an unevenness absorbing member provided in a recess of the protective member and providing an adhesive outside the device area to thereby fix the protective member and the wafer, a grinding step of holding the protective member on a holding table in the condition where the back side of the wafer is exposed and next grinding the back side of the wafer by using a grinding unit to thereby reduce the thickness of the wafer to a predetermined thickness, and a removing step of removing the protective member from the wafer. The adhesive is locally provided outside of the device area, so that the protective member can be easily removed from the wafer without leaving the adhesive on the front side of each device.
