Laser irradiation of absorbing materials can be used to generate acoustic pulses with extremely high amplitude and short pulse duration. Such acoustic pulses can transfer energy and momentum to atomic particles on solid surfaces to cause desorption of the particles. We report experimental observations of the effect of laser-induced acoustic desorption (LIAD) of electrons from metal film surfaces and hydrogen ions from the surface of palladium saturated with hydrogen. We believe LIAD can be used as a gentle technique to transfer analyte molecules and ions into gas phase for mass analysis and for other applications. ©1997 American Institute of Physics.