Provided is an optical element manufacturing method for manufacturing optical elements having opposing optical surfaces by using a pair of molding dies having molding surfaces, in which each molding die is provided with a molding surface for molding a first optical element and a molding surface for molding a second optical element, wherein the later molding surface is distinct from the former one and is used to adjust the relative positions of the pair of molding dies, and in which each molding die is used to perform the steps of: molding the second optical element; determining the misalignment between the opposing optical surfaces from the transmitted wavefront aberration of the second optical element; adjusting the relative position between the molding dies on the basis of the determined relative displacement; and molding the first optical element by using the molding dies, the relative position of which has been adjusted.