The passive mode‐locking characteristics of Nd:lanthanum beryllate (Nd:BEL) have been studied for the two linearly polarized laser transitions at 1.070 and 1.079 &mgr;m. Streak‐camera measurements of pulse duration and spectral broadening in the pulse‐train emission show that Nd:BEL can generate minimum‐bandwidth pulses of ⩽15 psec, some 2–3 times shorter than for Nd:YAG.