An optical element includes a substrate, a surface-emitting type semiconductor laser above the substrate and including a first mirror, an active layer and a second mirror formed in this order from the substrate side, a first optical detection section formed above the substrate, a second optical detection section above the substrate and having a second photoabsorption layer, and an isolation layer between the surface-emitting type semiconductor laser and at least one of the first optical detection section and the second optical detection section. The first optical detection section includes a first photoabsorption layer above the substrate and a photonic crystal section above or below the first photoabsorption layer. The photonic crystal section has a one or a two dimensional photonic crystal structure having a periodic refractive index distribution in a plane that intersects a direction of light incident upon the first optical detection section.