The sealed‐off CO2laser with La1−xSrxCoO3oxide cathode was found to improve laser performances in both output power and operating life. The maximum output power from 120‐cm discharge length was 62 W and the life defined by the power decrease by 10% was 3500 h at this power level. The power enhancement of this laser is due to the combined effects of catalytic activity and O2emissivity of the oxide cathode, while the life improvement is due to the combined effects of its chemical inertness, O2emissivity, and low sputtering rate.