The effect of a laser peening on the surface residual stress of SUS 304 was investigated using a second harmonic Nd:YAG laser beam. The energy density and the diameter of the laser beam were $400mJ/mm^2$ and about 1mm, respectively. According to the test results, the effect of a laser peening for improving the surface residual stress was not big enough to induce a high compressive stress on the SUS 304 surface. This is thought to be attributed to the small radius of the laser beam used in this study, even though its energy density is big enough. From this study, it can be concluded that to induce a recognizably high compressive stress on a metal surface, the energy density as well as the size (diameter) of the laser beam should be large enough to generate surface plasma with a high energy to have a big impact to a metal surface.