Lapping belt having an abrasive coating which contains an acicular (needle-shaped) iron oxide powder having a BET surface area of at least 30 m<2>/g and a granular inorganic powder having a Mohs hardness of more than 7 which is present in an amount of from 2.0 to 30% by weight, based on the weight of the oxide powder. The coating has a mean roughness value of from 0.015 to 0.03 mu m. The acicular iron oxide is preferably magnetic. Furthermore, the inorganic powder preferably has a particle size of from 0.05 to 0.4 mu m.
