Provided is a two-dimensional photonic crystal surface emitting laser which can suppress light leaking outside in an in-plane direction of the two-dimensional photonic crystal and an absorption loss in an active layer caused by the latter layer serving as an absorbing layer without contributing to light emission, and can improve light use efficiency. The surface emitting laser has a laminated structure in which an active layer and a photonic crystal layer are laminated in a vertical direction, has a resonance mode in an in-plane direction of the photonic crystal, and light is extracted in a vertical direction to a surface of the photonic crystal, wherein the laminated structure has a multi-refractive index layer including a central region made of a high refractive index medium and a peripheral portion made of a low refractive index medium with a lower refractive index than that of the high refractive index medium.