Although the coefficient of restitution was originally thought to be only a material property, the coefficient of restitution also depends upon initial conditions as well as on the frictional effect for oblique collisions. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate a method for obtaining the coefficient of restitution for oblique collisions and thereby to provide a theoretical guide for collision experiments. In this paper, we derive expressions for the energetic coefficient of restitution (e*) based on general normal contact deformation law, by which the value of e* can be obtained according to the initial conditions. An example shows that the results calculated by the derived expressions are reasonable.