The sinterability of K0.5Na0.5NbO3 (KNN) ceramics by a laser beam has been investigated in the present research. A 100W CO2 laser with a beam diameter of 0.6 mm has been used to sinter the KNN specimens prepared on a uniaxial pressing machine. The relations between laser power and thickness of densified layer, crystallographic structures and phase compositions have been studied. A comparison has been made between laser and furnace sintered KNN samples according to the SEM, XRD and XRF results. The possibility of KNN used for the layer-wise laser direct sintering 3D components has been confirmed in this paper. (C) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.