Wurtzite GaN epilayers grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition on sapphire substrates were subsequently ion implanted with Er to a dose of 5×10¹⁵ cm⁻². The implanted samples were annealed in nitrogen atmosphere at different temperatures to facilitate recovery from implantation related damage. In this paper we report the annealing behavior of Erbium implanted GaN by using micro Raman spectroscopy and optimized annealing condition. We have observed almost full damage recovery of the crystalline quality of Er implanted GaN after annealing at 1000°C for 2 minute. This observation is further confirmed by using AFM images. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)