A transverse electric (TE) mode selective polymer waveguide was fabricated by a photobleaching process using a urethane–urea copolymer. The output power of the TE modes through the waveguide was higher than that of the transverse magnetic (TM) modes, when the TE and TM modes were excited equally, the TE mode to TM mode extinction ratio being 27 dB. Mode selectivity was explained by the following relation of the refractive index: the refractive index for the TE modes in the core region was higher than that in the cladding region, while the refractive index for the TM modes in the core was lower than that in the cladding. This relation was attained by the photoinduced change in birefringence of the polymer layer. ©1997 American Institute of Physics.