SCM440, which is widely used as the diesel engine piston of vessel, has been hardened by a $CO_2$ laser with the wavelength of $10.6{mu}m$. Laser hardening experiment has been carried out for the condition of a laser power 1kW, the travel speed between 0.4 and 1.5m/min, and a rectangular-Gaussian beam. Residual stress has been measured by using middle point technique of half value width of X-ray diffraction method. It was found that the compressive residual stress with the range between 400 and 600MHz has distributed in the laser hardening zones and the tensile residual stress between 100 and 200MHz has distributed in the boundary of hardening zones.