In this paper, an inspection mechanism based on laser scattering has been developed for the surface evaluation of infrared cut-off filters, and optimum conditions of laser scattering are determined using the design of experiment. First of all, attributes and influence factors of laser scattering are investigated and then a laser scattering inspection mechanism is newly designed based on analyses of laser scattering parameters. Also, Taguchi method, one of experimental designs, is used for the optimum condition selection of laser scattering parameters and the optimum condition is determined in order to maximize the detection capability of surface defects. Experiments show that the proposed method is useful in a consistent and effective defect detection and can be applied to surface evaluation processes in manufacturing.