Self-triggering pulsed laser ranging, a novel pulsed laser ranging method, can solve the dilemma between ranging precision and measuring speed in the traditional laser ranging technique. The ranging precision and measuring speed are decided by the design of the time-of -flight measurement system to great extent. A time-of-flight measurement system based on CPLD for self-triggering pulsed laser ranging is designed and implemented. Benefiting from the high speed of CPLD, the precision of laser rangefinder is improved. Furthermore, the time-of-flight measurement system is adapted extraordinarily to high performance portable pulsed laser rangefinder for its compactness, simple structure, and high reliability. At last, experiment on self-triggering pulsed laser ranging is carried out, in which ±1 millimeter precision is achieved with 20 m-range area.