Abstract. Plasma sprayed thermal barrier coatings were laser glazed by a high power laser in order to modify the structures. The microstructure of laser-glazed TBCs is investigated. The result indicates that a smooth and dense glazed surface with craters and a network of microcracks is obtained after laser glazing. The laser glazed region consists of a columnar microstructure. There are segmentation microcracks in the laser glazed coatings, which don’t run through the coatings along thickness. Surface roughness has been reduced significantly for the laser treated ceramic coatings.