Disclosed is a method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent (EL) element which is provided with a pair of electrodes and two or more organic layers disposed between the electrodes, and which includes light-emitting layers as the two or more organic layers. The manufacturing method for an organic EL element includes: a step for forming one electrode of the pair of electrodes; a step for forming the two or more organic layers which have a periodic structure wherein the propagation direction of light propagating in a direction substantially perpendicular to the thickness direction of the light-emitting layers is inclined in said thickness direction; and a step for forming the other electrode of the pair of electrodes. In the step for forming the two or more organic layers, two or more planar layers constituting the organic layers are laminated, and the periodic structure which is periodically arranged in two dimensions is then formed on the two or more planar layers by means of an imprinting method in the plane perpendicular to the thickness direction of the light-emitting layers.