Laser cleaning can cause color changes and other modifications of the physical-chemical properties of bronze surfaces. The paper studied the agar gel-mediated laser cleaning with the aim of optimizing the cleaning effects. First, we conducted research on how the gel influences laser energy and its ablation mechanism by measuring the energy attenuation of laser passing through gel sheets and carrying out ablation tests on bronze samples as well as on heat-sensitive paper. Then, cleaning experiments were done on bronze samples to compare the cleaning effectiveness of the gel-mediated method with that of wet laser cleaning and mechanical cleaning. Video microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry and X-ray diffraction were used for evaluation. The results demonstrate that the gel could bring moderate attenuation to laser energy and thus reduce the micro-structural modifications, making cleaning operations more versatile. With efficacy and safety requirements balanced, it is concluded that the gel-mediated method optimizes cleaning effects and has potential in the future applications.