Porous carbon dendrite has been prepared by irradiating graphite targets with 532 nm, 10 ns laser pulses. The prepared samples were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The measurement results show that carbon dendrite structures with cluster diameter of 10 nm were obtained on the irradiated target surface in an inert gas atmosphere. The evolution of target surface morphology induced by different laser intensities was investigated. The formation mechanism of the dendrite structure has been discussed in detail. The laser intensity plays an important role in the formation of the nanostructures and there exists an optimum intensity to prepare the carbon dendrite. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.