Microstructures of laser surface melted (LSM) and alloyed (molybdenum and tantalum) type 304L stainless steel have been studied. delta-ferrite was found to be the primary solidification phase for these alloys. Chemical analysis of the laser-processed layers indicated no compositional variation between the as-received and laser-processed layers in terms of major alloying elements, i.e. chromium and nickel. However, laser processing resulted in a lowered manganese content, by about 15%. Furthermore, TEM studies showed laser processing to introduce extensive amorphous Mn-Si precipitation into the microstructure.