Provided are a surface light source apparatus and a display apparatus using the same, wherein in-plane brightness uniformity and light utilization efficiency are kept high without making the frame larger. The surface light source apparatus comprises a point light source (7), and a light guide plate (4) that has a hole (6) positioned where the point light source (7) is arranged and near a first side face (4a) that is one of the side faces. The first side face (4a) of the light guide plate (4) has a prism (100) at the vicinity of the hole (6), said prism (100) having a serrated cross section, which is cut parallel to the surface of the light guide plate (4).