Promotion of massive application of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) in the industry can be accomplished by using faster and more flexible technologies such as laser cutting. The anisotropic and heterogeneous features of the CFRP make laser processing very challenging.A comprehensive study on the cut performance of a CO 2 laser to process sheets (3mm thick) of a CFRP composite is presented. A high-beam quality CO 2 laser has been used in order to ascertain the capabilities of CO 2 laser cutting machines, widely used in metalworking applications, on the machining of this material. On the other hand, the influence of processing parameters, in both CW and pulsed mode, on the cut quality was studied.Cuts with a minimum heat affected zone, about 540μm, were achieved using a high-beam quality CO 2 laser working in pulsed mode. In consequence, the CFRP strength remains practically unaffected compared to more conventional mechanical machining.