A high-efficiency, short-pulse 1 198.5 nm Raman laser was demonstrated by using stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) in the barium nitrate (Ba(NO3)2) crystal which was pumped by a 1 064 nm Nd: YAG laser. With an incident pump power of 4.5 W, a maximum of 1.48 W Raman output power at a repetition rate of 30 Hz was obtained, corresponding to an overall optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 32.9%. The slope efficiency was calculated as 40%.The pulse width of the Raman pulses was reduced to 2.4 ns compared to the pump pulse width of 19.3 ns. The typical Raman pulse had an asymmetric shape, with a very steep positive-going slope and an extended negative-going slope, the mechanism of which was also demonstrated with qualitative analysis. The wavelength of the Raman laser ( the first Stokes ) was measured to be 1 198.5 nm with FWHM of 1.2 nm.