In this paper, increase in laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) of Nd:YAG crystal by XeCl and ArF laser irradiation is reported. Differential absorption spectra of the crystal samples show that oxygen vacancy defects can be annihilated by low dose excimer laser irradiation. 30 ns linearly polarized, 1064 nm single longitudinal mode,TEM00 laser pulses of a Q switched oscillator-amplifier system was used for LIDT measurement. LIDT of the irradiated crystals was obtained about three to five times higher than the LIDT of the un-irradiated crystal. Our results are very important in high power laser system applications.