We present the results of a theory describing the saturation behavior ofp‐type GaSb, AlAs, AlSb, and InAs for light having a wavelength near 10.6 &mgr;m. The dominant absorption mechanism is direct intervalence band transitions where a free hole in the heavy‐hole band absorbs a photon and makes a transition to the light‐hole band. The decrease in the absorption coefficient with increasing intensity is found to be closely approximated by an inhomogeneously broadened two‐level model, and values of the saturation intensity are reported for each material. We analyze the systematic dependence of the saturation intensity on the material parameters. We also report the temperature dependence of the saturation intensity near room temperature.