An organic EL device is disclosed which has a buffer structure that mitigates sputtering damage inflicted in the process of forming a transparent top electrode, that exhibits sufficient electrical conductivity and light transmissivity, and that exhibits high electron injection efficiency. An organic EL device according to the invention includes, sequentially disposed on a substrate, a bottom electrode, an organic EL layer including at least an organic light emissive layer, a buffer structure, and a transparent top electrode through which light is emitted. The buffer structure is a multilayer structure having two or more first type buffer layers containing a transparent material and two or more second type buffer layers containing a metal or an alloy, with each of the second type buffer layers being disposed on one of the first type buffer layers. A method for manufacturing such an organic EL device also is disclosed.