A surface emitting semiconductor laser includes an active region formed on a growth substrate, upper and lower mirror layers that sandwich the active region to construct a vertical cavity, a selective oxidization layer, and a current injecting unit for injecting a current into the active region. The selective oxidization layer is selectively oxidized and insulated and is provided on the side of the active region opposite to the side of the substrate. In this structure, a post portion is formed by removing semiconductor material formed on the substrate down to an uppermost or halfway level of the selective oxidization layer while the selective oxidization layer is used as an etch stop layer, and the selective oxidization layer acts as both a current confinement layer for the current injection and an insulating layer for the current injecting unit.