Surface quality of polymers has gained attention for applications such as automotive, bioengineering and optics industries. Although scratch is one of the common phenomena in polymer application, little effort existed before the 1980s. With the recent establishment of the ASTM/ISO polymer scratch test standard, the systematic study of fundamental understanding of polymer scratch is possible. This work focuses on both experimental and numerical study of polymer scratch behaviors, with an emphasis on the mechanical understanding of the formation of scratch damage. Upon investigation of a broad range of polymers, various scratch damage features have been identified and correlated with the polymer mechanical properties. A generalized polymer scratch damage map is presented. The finite element method is also employed to analyze the stress-strain fields and deformation mechanisms. The phenomenological deduction of the scratch damage based on the stick-slip mechanism is established. This work makes it possible to establish the correlation between the scratch phenomena and material properties, thus providing the guidelines for the development of scratch resistant polymers.