A comparison of the IR nanosecond laser ablation parameters for polished and nanostructured titanium samples has been performed. The titanium foil was mechanically polished and pres-structured by multiple 744-nm femtosecond laser pulses producing large surface spots covered by ripples with periods in range of 400–500nm. In order to evaluate the influence of such nanoripples, the nanosecond laser ablation and laser plasma properties were compared for polished surface, surface with nanoripples parallel and orthogonal to the laser beam polarization. A substantial decrease of the nanosecond ablation threshold was observed for the nanostructured in contrast to polished surface was detected while no influence of the ripple orientation vs. beam polarization was revealed. The comparison of plasma spectra for the ablation cases demonstrated that intensity of basic atomic lines and plasma emission duration were 2–5 times larger for the polished sample while spectra evolution was faster for the nanostructured sample. Plasma temperature and electron density were slightly lower for nanostructured sample while laser beam polarization has no effect on plasma properties. •Laser ablation of polished and nanostructured titanium foils has been compared.•No influence of laser beam polarization on laser ablation threshold was detected.•Greater spectra intensity was observed for plasma formed on polished sample.•Plasma temperature and electron density were higher for polished sample.