The thermodynamics of using laser heating in conjunction with magnetic compression in &thgr;‐pinch plasmas is discussed. It is shown that the minimum laser energy required to achieve a given plasma filling factor &Lgr; (ratio of plasma to plasma tube area) isElaser= &Lgr;2/3Eplasmaand that any filling factor up to &Lgr; = 1 can be achieved. The proposed schemes have important implications for either increasing the performance of standard &thgr; pinches or for replacing the single‐turn &thgr;‐pinch coil by a multiturn solenoid.