The adsorption and laser-induced desorption behavior of CO on W(110) has been studied using sum frequency generation (SFG) and thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS). The temperature and coverage dependence of the CO-stretch SFG-signal was measured. Laser irradiation of CO on the surface showed CO desorption and almost no dissociation of CO by visible laser pulses of 15-45mJ/cm 2 without damaging the surface. Simulations of the surface reactions are in agreement with these measurements. Furthermore, it was observed that the non-resonant SFG-intensity change caused by CO or O adsorption is correlated to the work function change.