The evanescent wave of the cylindrical vector field is analyzed using the vector angular spectrum of the electromagnetic beam. Comparison between the contributions of the TE and TM terms of both the propagating and the evanescent waves associated with the cylindrical vector field in free space is demonstrated. The physical pictures of the evanescent wave and the propagating wave are well illustrated from the vectorial structure, which provides a new approach to manipulating laser beams by choosing the states of polarization in the cross-section of the field.