The vibratory media finishing process, widely used for surface modification of large and small components in several applications, lacks an effective online monitoring technique to determine when a desired surface condition has been attained. This paper explores the possibility of such effective monitoring by examining the nature of the material removed in the form of micro-debris. Debris is collected at different process time intervals and examined to understand correlations to surface finish evolution. Results show that the average debris size decreases monotonically with processing time and hence by tracking the debris particle size the process could be monitored effectively. Such new monitoring techniques if practically implemented can significantly enhance efficiency of vibratory media finishing process planning by reducing process times.