**Abstract**

In the last two decades, pulsed-laser ablation has received attention from researchers in micro- and nanotechnology. During the development of laser ablation in materials processing, several media, such as vacuum, air, gases and liquids, have been used to improve the quality and quantity of laser machining and production of nanoparticles. The laser-ablation environment is important in order to control the average size and chemical compositions of nanoparticles. Conducting the laser-ablation process in liquid environments has become of increasing relevance for the production of precise and pure micromachining and nanomaterials. In addition, deionised water has been found to be the optimal environment to produce nanoparticles for bioapplications.

**Keywords:** laser ablation, vacuum, air, liquids, gases, nanoparticles, ablation mechanism, productivity
