Recently, many unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) studies have focused on small UAVs, because they are cost effective and suitable in dangerous indoor environments where human entry is limited. Map building through distance measurement is a key technology for the autonomous flight of small UAVs. In many researches for unmanned systems, distance could be measured by using laser range finders or stereo vision sensors. Even though a laser range finder provides accurate distance measurements, it has a disadvantage of high cost. Calculating the distance using a stereo vision sensor is straightforward. However, the sensor is large and heavy, which is not suitable for small UAVs with limited payload. This paper suggests a low-cost distance measurement system using a laser pointer and a monocular vision sensor. A method to measure distance using the suggested system is explained and some experiments on map building are conducted with these distance measurements. The experimental results are compared to the actual data and the reliability of the suggested system is verified.