The present paper is a contribution to the definition of optimal laser hardening conditions with production rate as the main goal. When the part to be treated is given, the optimization problem can be expressed in terms of minimal execution time subjected to two constraints: the depth of treatment and hardness of transformed layer. When the analytical expression of the objective function and the constraints was determined, the feasibility area was described and analyzed. Finally, an optimization algorithm was applied to identify the optimal solution as a function of the imposed constraints.