In this research, the effect of CO2 laser on various properties of polyester fabric specially dyeing was studied. Three disperse dyes of red, yellow, and blue were used and irradiation was performed before and after dyeing. To evaluate the color changes due to laser treatment, CIELAB Delta E-ab(*) color difference values were calculated. The morphology of the irradiated surfaces was examined by scanning electron microscopy. Other properties including color fastness, bending rigidity, wettability, and crystal size were also examined. The results revealed that laser treatment had an increasing effect on the color difference value. Among the three laser parameters examined in this work, laser power had the strongest effect. While no significant color fastness improvement with low laser intensity was observed, high-intensity laser irradiation increased the light and rubbing fastness. Properties such as wettability and bending rigidity were negatively affected by an increase in laser intensity. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012