The special requirements and possibilities of laser spatial intensity profiling in the UV spectral range are discussed in this paper, along with a description of a high resolution beam monitoring system. Especially developed for excimer lasers, this device allows real-time acquisition of beam profiles with various cross-sections from about 100 mm down to 100 micrometers . The acquired intensity distributions can be comprehensively analyzed, e.g., with respect to homogeneity, energy density, and energy fraction above a given threshold. In addition, we report on experiments with a highly integrating and high efficiency beam homogenizer consisting of crossed cylindrical lenses. It can be used to generate flat-top intensity distributions for nearly any type of input profile, also Gaussian. In combination with the laser beam monitor a high precision adjustment of the employed optics can be performed. The remaining non-uniformity of the obtained beam profile is in the range of 1%, allowing a variety of applications in material processing, medicine and spectroscopy, which strongly require a laterally constant energy density.