A photovoltaic device is provided which comprises a back reflection layer, a zinc oxide layer and a semiconductor layer stacked in this order on a substrate, wherein the zinc oxide layer contains a carbohydrate. The content of the carbohydrate is preferably in the range of from 1 µg/cm 3 to 100 mg/cm 3 . Thereby, the zinc oxide layer can be formed without abnormal growth to have a rough surface to achieve sufficient optical confinement effect, and the photovoltaic device is improved in the durability and the photoelectric conversion efficiency.