A liquid crystal lens is provided and includes a first electrode, a second electrode disposed opposite to the first electrode, and a liquid crystal layer, including liquid crystal molecules having refractive anisotropy, disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, the liquid crystal molecules being changed in alignment depending on voltage applied by the first electrode and the second electrode, thereby to form such a phase difference distribution that phase difference with respect to an incident beam of a fundamental wavelength varies from 0 to 2πβ along the predetermined direction, β being an integer of 2 or more, and to yield such a lens effect that focal lengths for a plurality of incident beams of different wavelengths including the fundamental wavelength are equal to one another.