This paper proposes a solution method for inverse laser surface heating problem. By minimizing the mean square error between the experimental data obtained from inside the body and the estimated data from the derived analytical solution of a laser surface heating problem with time-dependent boundary conditions, the temperature function at the laser heating end can be determined. Consequently, the temperature distribution and the heat flux over the entire time and space domains can also be obtained. In addition, the integral transform and tedious numerical operations are not required in the proposed solution method. Mathematical and experimental examples are given to illustrate the simplicity, efficiency, and accuracy of the proposed method. (c) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.