We report on the depth profile of the nonlinear optical susceptibility in ion‐implanted potassium niobate (KNbO3) waveguides using reflected second harmonic generation from wedged samples. After irradiation the waveguide layer exhibits partial loss of its optical nonlinearity that can be recovered to better than 90% of its value of the virgin crystal by subsequent annealing and repoling. We propose microscopic depolarization due to ion implantation to be responsible for the observed decrease of the nonlinear optical susceptibility. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.