For laser welding in shipbuilding industry, gap bridging capability is one of the most important characteristics to achieve the high productivity and good weld quality. Recently, laser-GMA hybrid welding process is regarded as a distinctive method to overcome the tight gap tolerance with improving the productivity. In this study, the influence of process parameters on the bead formation was experimentally analyzed and the relationship between the process parameters and geometric imperfections was investigated. It was revealed that undercut, excessive weld metal, excessive penetration and incompletely filled groove were the major geometric imperfections. The optimized wire feeding and arc pressure were necessary to ensure the gap bridging ability. The approach to select the process parameters was conducted for butt welding with up to 2mm joint gap, in which the sound weld beads were generated without changing the welding speed.