In this paper, a plasma jet driven by an in-house developed microsecond pulse is used for polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) surface modification. The hydrophilic modification effects of He and Ar plasma jets are compared under the same condition. The He and Ar plasma jets are characterized by optical emission spectrometer (OES). Water contact angle (WCA) measurement is used to evaluate the wettability of PMMA samples. The evolution on morphology and chemical composition of PMMA before and after plasma treatment are also analyzed. The OES results demonstrate that He plasma is composed with higher intensities of reactive species, like OH, O, N-2 and N-2(+) than that of Ar plasma and show a better modification effect. In addition, it is observed that the surface roughness and oxygen-containing groups like C-O/C OH and O=C-O increase on the PMMA surface after plasma treatment, which are responsible for the hydrophilic modification. During the storage, the WCA of each sample increases gradually for both He and Ar plasma treatments. The He plasma treated PMMA also shows a slower aging effect than that of Ar plasma treated PMMA. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.