The present study demonstrates the complete removal of Cr(VI) in aqueous suspensions of zinc oxide nanoparticles using a novel laser-induced photocatalytic process without the use of any additive. The study showed that similar to 95% Cr(VI) was removed within short time (60 min) of laser exposure in the presence of ZnO. However, the removal of chromium using conventional setup under identical conditions was found to be negligible. Effect of critical parameters, such as laser energy, catalyst concentration, chromium concentration, and added electron donor and acceptor on the photocatalytic reduction process was also investigated. The data regarding temporal behavior of metal removal was fitted to first-order kinetic and reaction rate was computed. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.