We modify the Sedov theory to describe plasma shock waves generated in a pulsed laser ablating process. We also study the propagation characteristics of plasma shock waves during the preparation process of functional thin films deposited by a pulsed laser. In particular, we discuss in detail the temporal behaviour of energy causing the difference of the propagation characteristics between the plasma shock wave and the ideal shock wave in the point explosion model. Under the same experimental conditions, the theoretical results calculated with our modified Sedov theory are in good agreement with the existing experimental data.