Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy has been used in order to obtain quantitative local equivalence ratio measurements in laminar premixed methane-air Bunsen flames. The total emission intensities of the 656.3 nm H-alpha and the 777 nm O(I) atomic spectral lines were simultaneously measured and a linear relation of the H/O intensity ratio with the flame equivalence ratio phi was established. Axial and radial profiles of local equivalence ratio were thus obtained for both lean and rich flames and were used to provide information reaarding flame structure and dynamics. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.