Single crystals ofn‐Hg1−xCdxTe (x=0.18) were grown by the Bridgman technique. The bulk single crystals were irradiated with laser pulses of various energy densities. A pulsed laser (Nd:YAG) capable of producing 10‐ns pulses of 0.53‐&mgr;m wavelength (frequency doubled) with varying energy densities (2–50 mJ/cm2) was employed. dc conductivity and Hall coefficient measurements were made on the single crystal using the van der Pauw technique in the temperature range 77–300 K, for both as‐grown and laser‐irradiated samples. Also, transmission measurements of the samples were taken at room temperature. Both electrical and optical studies showed that laser irradiation introduces additional defects in mercury cadmium telluride (MCT), and its quality deteriorates instead of improving as observed in many other semiconductor materials. We found that laser irradiation increases free‐carrier concentration and decreases the band gap of MCT.