The normal spectral absorptance of a number of metal, ceramic and polymer powders susceptible to be utilised for selective laser sintering (SLS) technique was experimentally determined. The measurements were performed with two laser wavelengths of 1.06μm and 10.6μm obtained by using two lasers – Nd‐YAG and CO2 respectively. The change in the powder absorptance with time during laser processing was also investigated. The effect of the absorptance characteristics on the sintering process is discussed.