Characterization of the plasma plume produced by laser ablation from Al and Al2O3 targets was carried out on the basis of the line profile analysis of Al(I) ((2)Pdegrees-S-2) emission. The spatial distribution and density parameters of electrons and Al atoms in the plume were obtained by comparing observed spectral line profiles with a theoretical calculation. The results showed different behavior for the Al and Al2O3 targets. The Al atoms from the Al2O3 target were populated in a smaller region than those from the Al target.