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Introduction: Melasma is an acquired chronic hyperpigmentation which mainly affects women on sun-exposed areas of the body, especially on the face in Fitzpatrick skin types III-V. The study setting is at the Dermatology Clinic at NILES, Cairo University, Egypt. The aim: This study aims to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of fractional ablative erbium:YAG Laser therapy versus chemical peeling in treatment of melasma. Patients, materials and methods: This study included 30 patients with melasma on their face aged 20-50 years. The patients were divided into two groups. In group I, 15 patients were treated by four sessions of fractional erbium YAG laser at 4 weeks interval. In group II, 15 patients were treated by four sessions of chemical peeling with glycolic acid 70%. Results: The percentage of improvement in patients treated by fractional erbium YAG laser was 20 - 80% with amean 54.33 ± 18.01 and the percentage of improvement in patients treated by chemical peeling was 30 - 85% with a mean 53.33 ± 18.09. So, there was no significant difference in the percentage of improvement in both groups (P-value = 0.881). Conclusion: It was observed that fractional erbium YAG is as effective as 70% glycolic acid peel in patients with melasma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]