A light-emitting element includes a semiconductor substrate, a light emitting portion including an active layer, a reflective portion between the semiconductor substrate and the light emitting portion, and a current dispersion layer on the light emitting portion. The reflective portion includes a plurality of pair layers each including a first semiconductor layer and a second semiconductor layer. The first semiconductor layer has a thickness TA1 defined by a formula (1) and the second semiconductor layer has a thickness TB1 defined by a formula (2), where λP represents a peak wavelength of the light emitted from the active layer, nA represents a refractive index of the first semiconductor layer, nB represents a refractive index of the second semiconductor layer, nIn represents a refractive index of a first cladding layer, and θ represents an incident angle of light from the first cladding layer to the second semiconductor layer. T A ⁢ ⁢ 1 = λ p 4 ⁢ n A ⁢ 1 - ( n In ⁢ sin ⁢ ⁢ θ n A ) 2 Formula ⁢ ⁢ ( 1 ) T B ⁢ ⁢ 1 = λ p 4 ⁢ n B ⁢ 1 - ( n In ⁢ sin ⁢ ⁢ θ n B ) 2 Formula ⁢ ⁢ ( 2 )