Organically modified germanosilicate (ORMOGSIL) glasses prepared by a sol-gel method showed a large refractive index change on ultraviolet exposure. The large photoinduced refractive index change in the ORMOGSIL glasses is mainly due to the structural densification caused by ultraviolet irradiation. The shifts in frequency of the Raman bands measured at room temperature reveal structural densification by reduction of the average intertetrahedral bonding angle theta in the ORMOGSIL glasses. Surface relief patterns by photoinduced densification were directly inscribed on the ORMOGSIL glasses.