AbstractPressure broadening of Lyman‐lines of hydrogen‐like lithium is studied using a quantum statistical approach to the line shape in dense plasmas. We report line widths (FWHM) and shifts for Lα , Lβ , and Lγ in a wide range of densities and temperatures relevant for laser‐produced lithium plasmas. We estimate the influence of ion dynamics and strong collisions. The results are applied to measured spectra of lithium irradiated by a nanosecond laser pulse of moderate intensities (I ≈ 1011 – 1013 W/cm2), see G. Schriever et al. [1, 2]. By matching synthetic spectra to the experimental ones, density and temperature conditions are inferred assuming the model of a one‐dimensional uniform plasma slab. This allows for a more precise estimate of the density compared to the results reported earlier. Self‐absorption is accounted for and found to be important for Lα . (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)