A compact high-power picosecond regenerative amplifier based on continuous wave (CW) diode side-pumped Nd:YAG is demonstrated. Average power of 8.8 W is achieved at a repetition rate of 5 kHz at a wavelength of 1 064 nm with a pulse duration of 28 ps, corresponding to a pulse energy of 1.76 mJ and a peak power of 62.9 MW. The beam quality is close to the diffraction limit with M2x = 1.24, M2y =1.03. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest pulse energy obtained from a CW diode pumped Nd:YAG picosecond regenerative amplifier.