Barium has been used as the working medium in a discharge‐heated metal‐vapor laser. The laser produced an average power of 12 W, principally at 1.5 &mgr;, with an overall efficiency of 0.54&percent; when operating at a pulsed repetition frequency (PRF) of 8 kHz. A parametric study of laser performance and a rollover in laser power at high barium number density are discussed.