The surfaces of vanadium dioxide thin films (VO2) in phase transition were studied at visible wavelength by laser scanning microscopy (LSM). Samples were laser ablated VO2 on Al2O3 and SiO2/Si substrates at different temperatures and in different oxygen pressures. Using the differential interference method in the observation by LSM, real-time surface images for the samples in transition were successfully obtained by changing their temperature. The results showed the strong influence of deposition temperature, the oxygen pressure and the substrate type on the clarity and orientation of transition areas, which appeared as the difference of the brightness in the images.