A recess channel semiconductor non-volatile memory (NVM) device is disclosed. The recess channel MOSFET devices by etching into the silicon substrate for the device channel have been applied to advanced DRAM process nodes. The same etching process of the recess channel MOSFET device is applied to form the recess channel semiconductor NVM device. The tunneling oxides are grown on silicon surface after the recess channel hole etching process. The storing material is deposited into the recess channel holes with coupling dielectrics on top of the storing material. The gate material is then deposited and etched to form the control gate. Owing to the recess channel embedded below the silicon substrate, the scaling challenges such as gate channel length, floating gate interference, high aspect ratio for gate stack etching, and the mechanical stability of gate formation for the semiconductor NVM device can be significantly reduced.