A simple and compact x‐ray luminosity time‐of‐flight spectrometer for measurements of the velocity distribution of highly charged ions in laser‐produced plasmas is presented. The spectrometer is based on making time‐ and space‐resolved measurements of x‐ray line emission from these ions in the expansion zone. Design, operation, and performance of this system are described. The spectrometer is useful in studying processes of interaction between highly charged ions and buffer gases, and nonthermal behavior of laser‐produced plasma expansion.