A nitride semiconductor laser element comprises a nitride semiconductor substrate and a nitride semiconductor layer laminated thereon, wherein the nitride semiconductor substrate has a high dislocation density region and a low dislocation density region containing lower dislocation than that of the high dislocation density region, and has at least one recess formed in at least the high dislocation density region, the nitride semiconductor layer has a first nitride semiconductor layer in which the grown film thickness in the lateral direction from the side faces of the recess in the substrate is greater than the grown film thickness in the heightwise direction from a region other than the recess, and a second nitride semiconductor layer that is disposed on the first nitride semiconductor layer and contains indium, and the first nitride semiconductor layer and second nitride semiconductor layer have recess over the recess in the nitride semiconductor substrate.