An applied range of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) is extended under igniting by laser, but there is no study in detail on its ignition process. The ignition time of SHS by laser is studied in detail in this paper for searching igniting law. A laser beam produced by CO2 laser scans back and forth along a straight line on the surface of a sample, and an ignition time is measured under different testing conditions. The results show that the ignition time is the shortest at certain mixing time, the ignition time is longer with decreasing of the density and increasing of the sample density, and the ignition time becomes shorter when pre-heat temperature rises, but the ignition time has no relation with the area and the thickness of samples when the thickness is thicker, and it has no close relation with shield gas of N2.