This paper presents a reduction in the Rayleigh scattering intensity in VAD silica glass with annealing and its relation to the fictive temperature, T_F, estimated from the shift in the infra-red (IR) absorption peak, an overtone mode of the Si-O-Si stretching vibration. An 18% decrease was observed in the scattering intensity for a sample annealed at 950°C for 156h. The decrease appears to be mainly due to the T_F reduction. The T_F reduction rate for a dehydrated sample was higher than that for an undehydrated sample. This is explained by the interaction between termination units (-OH and -Cl) and the glass network.