A laser was used to perforate gas diffusion layer (GDL) that enhances liquid water transport from the electrodes to the gas channels. The generated holes diameter is from 80 to 200 gm, and center-to-center spacing is from 1 to 3 mm. A three-dimensional numerical model, based on a level set method, was built to investigate the water transport characteristics through the perforations with different diameters and spacing. Experiments and simulation results show that there is a better correlation among the diameter, spacing of the perforation and the power density. When the perforation diameter is 100 gm and the perforation pitch is 2 mm, the water transfer effect is the best which enhances the water discharge effectively and avoids the liquid droplets obstructing the gas flow channel at the same time. These results may assist in the design of GDL for water management in the operation of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. (C) 2017 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.