<PAGE>

     As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 3, 2000
                                                           Registration No. 333-
================================================================================

                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            Washington, D.C. 20549

                          __________________________

                                   FORM S-8
                            REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     UNDER
                          THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                          __________________________

                                 VARIAN, INC.

            (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
                          __________________________

                Delaware                                     77-0501995
     (State or Other Jurisdiction of                     (I.R.S. Employer
     Incorporation or Organization)                     Identification No.)

                               3120 Hansen Way
                           Palo Alto, CA 94304-1030
                   (Address of Principal Executive Offices)
                          __________________________
                                 Varian, Inc.
                         Employee Stock Purchase Plan
                           (Full Title of the Plan)
                          __________________________

                               Arthur W. Homan
                Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
                                 Varian, Inc.
                               3120 Hansen Way
                           Palo Alto, CA 94304-1030
                   (Name and Address of Agent For Service)

                                (650) 213-8000
        (Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent For Service)

                                  Copies to:

                            Richard V. Smith, Esq.
                      Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
                      Old Federal Reserve Bank Building
                              400 Sansome Street
                     San Francisco, California 94111-3143
                                (415) 392-1122

                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
===========================================================================================================================
                                               Amount               Proposed             Proposed            Amount of
 Title of Securities to be Registered          To Be             Maximum Offering     Maximum Aggregate     Registration
                                             Registered          Price Per Share (1)    Offering Price (1)      Fee
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                                      <C>                     <C>                   <C>                   <C>
Common Stock, (2)
par value $.01 per share...............  1,200,000 shares          $ 37.57                 $ 45,084,000        $ 11,903
===========================================================================================================================
</TABLE>

(1) Pursuant to Rule 457(h)(1), the proposed maximum offering price per share
    and the proposed maximum aggregate offering price have been calculated on
    the basis of $ 37.57 per share, the average of the high and low price of the
    Common Stock on the Nasdaq National Market on March 2, 2000.
(2) Includes Preferred Stock Purchase Rights which, prior to the occurrence of
    certain events, will not be exercisable or evidenced separately from the
    Common Stock.
================================================================================
<PAGE>

                                     PART I

Item 1.  Plan Information *

Item 2.  Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information *

  *  Information required by Part I to be contained in the Section 10(a)
prospectus is omitted from this Registration Statement in accordance with Rule
428 under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") and the Note to Part
I of Form S-8.

                                    PART II

Item 3.  Incorporation of Certain Documents by Reference

         The following documents filed by Varian, Inc. (the "Registrant") with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") are incorporated by
reference to this Registration Statement:

         (a)  The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No 000-25393)
              for the fiscal year ended October 1, 1999.

         (b)  All other reports filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the
              Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year covered by the
              Registrant document referred to in (a) above.

         (c)  The description of the Registrant's common stock and preferred
              stock purchase rights contained in the registration statements
              filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
              "Exchange Act") on Form 8-A, including any subsequent amendments
              or reports filed for the purpose of updating that information.

     All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14, and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a post-
effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered have been sold
or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be
incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof
from the date of filing of such documents.

Item 4.  Description of Securities

  Inapplicable.

Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel

  Inapplicable.

Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers

     Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware
("Delaware Law") authorizes a Delaware corporation to indemnify officers,
directors, employees and agents of the corporation, in connection with actual or
threatened actions, suits or proceedings provided that such officer, director,
employee or agent acted in good faith and in a manner such officer reasonably
believed to be in or not opposed to the corporation's best interests, and, for
criminal proceedings, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was
unlawful. This authority is sufficiently broad to permit indemnification under
certain circumstances for liabilities (including reimbursement for expenses
incurred) arising under the Securities Act.

     The Registrant's Restated Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws provide
for indemnification of officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by
Delaware Law. In addition, the Registrant has, and intends in the future

                                       2
<PAGE>

to enter into, agreements to provide indemnification for directors and officers
in addition to that contained in the Restated Certificate of Incorporation and
By-laws.

Item 7.  Exemption From Registration Claimed

  Inapplicable.

Item 8.  Exhibits

         Exhibit
         Number  Name
         ------  ----
         5.1     Opinion of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.

         23.1    Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

         23.2    Consent of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is included in
                 Exhibit 5.1 to this Registration Statement.

         24.1    Powers of Attorney.

Item 9.  Undertakings

     (a) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

         (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made,
a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

             (i)    to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of
the Securities Act;

             (ii)   to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising
after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-
effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent
a fundamental change in the information set forth in the Registration Statement
Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities
offered (if the dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which
was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated
maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the
Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume
and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering
price set for the in the "Calculation of Registration Fee" table in the
effective Registration Statement;

             (iii)  to include any material information with respect to the
plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or
any material change to such information in the Registration Statement;
provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the
information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those
paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the Registrant pursuant to
Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by
reference in the Registration Statement.

         (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new
registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

         (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment
any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of
the offering.

     (b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Exchange Act that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement
shall be deemed to be a new

                                       3
<PAGE>

Registration Statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

     (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities
Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the
Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant
has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is
against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.
In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other
than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director,
officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any
action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling
person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will,
unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling
precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether
such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the
Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

                                       4
<PAGE>

                                   SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Palo Alto, State of California on the 3rd of March,
2000.

                         VARIAN, INC.
                         (Registrant)


                         By: /s/ Arthur W. Homan
                                 ---------------------------------------------
                                 Arthur W. Homan
                                 Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the dates indicated.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
             Signature                             Title                           Date
             ---------                             -----                           ----
<S>                                       <C>                                 <C>

                                          Director, President and             March 3, 2000
/s/ Allen J. Lauer                        Chief Executive Officer
-------------------------------
Allen J. Lauer

/s/ G. Edward McClammy
-------------------------------              Vice President and               March 3, 2000
G. Edward McClammy                        Chief Financial Officer
                                       (Principal Financial Officer)

/s/ James L. Colbert
-------------------------------                  Controller                   March 3, 2000
James L. Colbert                       (Principal Accounting Officer)

* John G. McDonald
                                                  Director                    March 3, 2000

* Wayne R. Moon
                                                  Director                    March 3, 2000

* D. E. Mundell
                                                  Director                    March 3, 2000

* Elizabeth E. Tallett
                                                  Director                    March 3, 2000

* By: /s/ Arthur W. Homan
     --------------------------
          Arthur W. Homan
          Attorney-in-fact
</TABLE>


                                       5
<PAGE>

                                 EXHIBIT INDEX
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
     Exhibit                                                                                  Page
     Number  Name                                                                             Number
     ------  ----                                                                             ------
     <S>     <C>
     5.1     Opinion of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.

     23.1    Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

     23.2    Consent of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is included in Exhibit
             5.1 to this Registration Statement.

     24.1    Powers of Attorney.
</TABLE>
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "FORM S-8", "secsgml_size_bytes": 14750}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "VARIAN INC", "cik": "0001079028", "assigned-sic": "3826", "irs-number": "770501995", "state-of-incorporation": "DE"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-31704", "film-number": "561076"}, "business-address": {"street1": "3050 HANSEN WAY", "city": "PALO ALTO", "state": "CA", "zip": "94304-1000", "phone": "6504245352"}}
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 3, 2000
                                                           Registration No. 333-
================================================================================

                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            Washington, D.C. 20549

                          __________________________

                                   FORM S-8
                            REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     UNDER
                          THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                          __________________________

                                 VARIAN, INC.

            (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
                          __________________________

                Delaware                                     77-0501995
     (State or Other Jurisdiction of                     (I.R.S. Employer
     Incorporation or Organization)                     Identification No.)

                               3120 Hansen Way
                           Palo Alto, CA 94304-1030
                   (Address of Principal Executive Offices)
                          __________________________
                                 Varian, Inc.
                         Employee Stock Purchase Plan
                           (Full Title of the Plan)
                          __________________________

                               Arthur W. Homan
                Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
                                 Varian, Inc.
                               3120 Hansen Way
                           Palo Alto, CA 94304-1030
                   (Name and Address of Agent For Service)

                                (650) 213-8000
        (Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent For Service)

                                  Copies to:

                            Richard V. Smith, Esq.
                      Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
                      Old Federal Reserve Bank Building
                              400 Sansome Street
                     San Francisco, California 94111-3143
                                (415) 392-1122

                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
===========================================================================================================================
                                               Amount               Proposed             Proposed            Amount of
 Title of Securities to be Registered          To Be             Maximum Offering     Maximum Aggregate     Registration
                                             Registered          Price Per Share (1)    Offering Price (1)      Fee
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock, (2)
par value $.01 per share...............  1,200,000 shares          $ 37.57                 $ 45,084,000        $ 11,903
===========================================================================================================================
(1) Pursuant to Rule 457(h)(1), the proposed maximum offering price per share
    and the proposed maximum aggregate offering price have been calculated on
    the basis of $ 37.57 per share, the average of the high and low price of the
    Common Stock on the Nasdaq National Market on March 2, 2000.
(2) Includes Preferred Stock Purchase Rights which, prior to the occurrence of
    certain events, will not be exercisable or evidenced separately from the
    Common Stock.
================================================================================
PART I

Item 1.  Plan Information *

Item 2.  Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information *

  *  Information required by Part I to be contained in the Section 10(a)
prospectus is omitted from this Registration Statement in accordance with Rule
428 under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") and the Note to Part
I of Form S-8.

                                    PART II

Item 3.  Incorporation of Certain Documents by Reference

         The following documents filed by Varian, Inc. (the "Registrant") with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") are incorporated by
reference to this Registration Statement:

         (a)  The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No 000-25393)
              for the fiscal year ended October 1, 1999.

         (b)  All other reports filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the
              Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year covered by the
              Registrant document referred to in (a) above.

         (c)  The description of the Registrant's common stock and preferred
              stock purchase rights contained in the registration statements
              filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
              "Exchange Act") on Form 8-A, including any subsequent amendments
              or reports filed for the purpose of updating that information.

     All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14, and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a post-
effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered have been sold
or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be
incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof
from the date of filing of such documents.

Item 4.  Description of Securities

  Inapplicable.

Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel

  Inapplicable.

Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers

     Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware
("Delaware Law") authorizes a Delaware corporation to indemnify officers,
directors, employees and agents of the corporation, in connection with actual or
threatened actions, suits or proceedings provided that such officer, director,
employee or agent acted in good faith and in a manner such officer reasonably
believed to be in or not opposed to the corporation's best interests, and, for
criminal proceedings, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was
unlawful. This authority is sufficiently broad to permit indemnification under
certain circumstances for liabilities (including reimbursement for expenses
incurred) arising under the Securities Act.

     The Registrant's Restated Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws provide
for indemnification of officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by
Delaware Law. In addition, the Registrant has, and intends in the future

                                       2
to enter into, agreements to provide indemnification for directors and officers
in addition to that contained in the Restated Certificate of Incorporation and
By-laws.

Item 7.  Exemption From Registration Claimed

  Inapplicable.

Item 8.  Exhibits

         Exhibit
         Number  Name
         ------  ----
         5.1     Opinion of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.

         23.1    Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

         23.2    Consent of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is included in
                 Exhibit 5.1 to this Registration Statement.

         24.1    Powers of Attorney.

Item 9.  Undertakings

     (a) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

         (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made,
a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

             (i)    to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of
the Securities Act;

             (ii)   to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising
after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-
effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent
a fundamental change in the information set forth in the Registration Statement
Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities
offered (if the dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which
was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated
maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the
Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume
and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering
price set for the in the "Calculation of Registration Fee" table in the
effective Registration Statement;

             (iii)  to include any material information with respect to the
plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or
any material change to such information in the Registration Statement;
provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the
information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those
paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the Registrant pursuant to
Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by
reference in the Registration Statement.

         (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new
registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

         (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment
any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of
the offering.

     (b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Exchange Act that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement
shall be deemed to be a new

                                       3
Registration Statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

     (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities
Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the
Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant
has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is
against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.
In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other
than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director,
officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any
action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling
person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will,
unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling
precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether
such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the
Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

                                       4
SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Palo Alto, State of California on the 3rd of March,
2000.

                         VARIAN, INC.
                         (Registrant)

                         By: /s/ Arthur W. Homan
                                 ---------------------------------------------
                                 Arthur W. Homan
                                 Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature                             Title                           Date
             ---------                             -----                           ----
Director, President and             March 3, 2000
/s/ Allen J. Lauer                        Chief Executive Officer
-------------------------------
Allen J. Lauer

/s/ G. Edward McClammy
-------------------------------              Vice President and               March 3, 2000
G. Edward McClammy                        Chief Financial Officer
                                       (Principal Financial Officer)

/s/ James L. Colbert
-------------------------------                  Controller                   March 3, 2000
James L. Colbert                       (Principal Accounting Officer)

* John G. McDonald
                                                  Director                    March 3, 2000

* Wayne R. Moon
                                                  Director                    March 3, 2000

* D. E. Mundell
                                                  Director                    March 3, 2000

* Elizabeth E. Tallett
                                                  Director                    March 3, 2000

* By: /s/ Arthur W. Homan
     --------------------------
          Arthur W. Homan
          Attorney-in-fact
5
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit                                                                                  Page
     Number  Name                                                                             Number
     ------  ----                                                                             ------
5.1     Opinion of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.

     23.1    Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

     23.2    Consent of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is included in Exhibit
             5.1 to this Registration Statement.

     24.1    Powers of Attorney.