A linear analysis of ion Bernstein wave (IBW) propagation and absorption is considered in a general tokamak plasma magnetic equilibrium. The effects of elongation, triangularity, and Shafranov shift on radio‐frequency (rf) absorption are discussed with respect to the simple case of circular and concentric magnetic surfaces. The ray‐tracing equations are analytically and numerically solved in the flux surface coordinate system, and the power deposited in the plasma is calculated along the trajectory for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) [Nucl. Fusion31, 1135 (1991)] plasma parameters.