Abstract. Variety and complex interaction of physical processes during laser cutting is a critical characteristic of the laser cutting of metals. Small spatial and temporal scales complicate significantly the experimental investigations of the multi-phase fluid flow in the conditions of laser cutting of metals. In these conditions, the surface formed during the cutting is an indicator determining the melt flow character. The quantitative parameter reflecting the peculiarities of the multi-phase fluid flow, is normally the roughness of the forming surface, and the minimal roughness is the criterion of the qualitative flow [1 -2]. The purpose of this work is to perform the experimental comparative investigation of the thermophysical pattern of the multi-phase melt flow in the conditions of the laser cutting of metals with the laser wavelength of 10.6 μm and 1.07 μm.During the laser cutting, the local material melting and melt removal by an assistant gas jet take place. Cutting of low-carbon steel sheets is usually carried out in an oxygen jet (oxygen-assisted laser cutting). In this case, the exothermic reaction of iron oxidation is an additive energy source. The power balance for the oxygen-assisted laser cutting and the cutting with a chemically inert gas is written respectively as:where A is the absorption coefficient; W is the laser power; W ox is the power released at the exothermic reaction; W m is the power consumed for melting; and W cond is the power lost from the cut region due to thermal conductivity. In