The effects of laser peening on metallic materials have been investigated with water-penetrable frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser. Laser pulses of 200 mJ energy and 8 ns duration focused on samples underwater with 0.8 mm spot diameter. X-ray study showed that compressive residual stress was imparted on SKD61 from the surface to nearly 2 mm depth. Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) was prohibited for sensitized SUS304 even in a severely corrosive environment fatigue lives of SUS316L and SM490A welded samples were prolonged significantly in the high-cycle regime. Since 1999, laser peening has been applied to prevent SCC in operating nuclear power plants in Japan.