We have developed a laser welding monitoring system to monitor laser welding process conditions such as sample feed rate, laser focal position, and laser power. A 2 ㎾ Nd:YAG CW laser beam has been applied to the welding of a stainless steel plate (SUS306) to investigate the welding monitoring. Theradiation signal from the weld pool was guided back through the focusing optics and the laser delivery fiber, and measured by a photo detector. By changing the focus of the laser beam along the z-direction, the penetration depth of the welding material has been measured. That shows the penetration depth depends on the frequency fluctuations of the plume signals which can be used in welding quality control.