AISI 1040 steel is widely used in the machinery and manufacturing industries and is used in a variety of machine parts, automotive parts, molds, fixtures and many other areas. Technological developments in the field of machining in recent years have led to many problems affecting machining performance. Drilling is one of the most important machining operations. In this study effect of drilling parameters such as cutting speed (15, 20 m/min), feed rate (0.1, 0.15 mm/tooth), type of drill (HSS-E, HSS-E TiN coated), drilling type (standard, pecking) and cooling type (liquid, air) were examined on AISI 1040 steel. Parameters' effects on surface roughness were investigated. Experiments were planned according to L8 orthogonal array. Optimum conditions were found via Taguchi's Signal/Noise analysis. Probability analysis was performed to discover the distribution of the measured/calculated values of the results. Lastly, confirmation tests were conducted to control the success of the optimization. The optimal conditions for surface roughness were observed at A1B2C2D1E2 (i.e., cutting speed: 15m/min, feed rate: 0.15mm/tooth, cooling type: liquid, drilling type: standard, and type of drill: HSS-ETiN coated).