The compressive residual stresses are generated by laser shock processing (LSP) on the metallic surface,and laser shock processing is a new surface strengthening technology which can modify material surface. With the finite element simulation software ABAQUS,the effect of the laser power densities and the spot configurations on the distribution of residual stress field of the material surface is simulated. The results indicate that the compressive residual stress field can be enhanced by increasing the laser power densities,but the “residual stress hole” may appear with the increase of the power densities. From the analysis of material displacement and the dynamic response of the surface stresses after the laser shock,it is found that the shocking on material surface and the elastic force of material together form the oscillation process,and the reflection waves (rarefaction waves) load reversely on the shocking spot edges,inducing the reverse plastic deformation,which is the so-called “residual stress hole”. The focalizing of the rarefaction waves to the center is influenced by the spot configurations,and the residual stress deletion at the shocking center is different. The results can be used to reduce the residual stress deletion at the shocking center and optimize the process parameters,which provide a basis for obtaining the better strengthened effect of the laser shock processing.