The changes of ablation characteristics with respect to laser parameters and material parameters during pulsed laser ablation of solids were discussed with experimental results. Although laser wavelength, laser pulse width, and laser pulse energy are the primary factors to be considered, it is shown that other parameters such as laser spot size and material properties also critically influence on the ablation results. It is further demonstrated that the microstructural characteristics of the target can lead to completely different ablation rate and surface morphology.