The present invention provides a fast-response photorefractive polymer element (1) including two insulating substrates (2, 2) arranged substantially in parallel with each other, ITO electrodes (3, 3) provided on inner surfaces (2a, 2a) of two insulating substrates (2, 2), dark current control layers (4, 4) provided on inner surfaces (3a, 3a) of ITO electrodes (3, 3), and a photorefractive composite material (5) provided between two insulating substrates (2, 2) with ITO electrodes (3, 3) and dark current control layers (4, 4). The photorefractive composite material (5) contains polytriarylamine (PTAA) which is a photorefractive polymer, and a dark current control layer (4) is a single-layered monomolecular film or multi-layered monomolecular films. With these configurations, a fast-response photorefractive polymer element achieves significantly improved responsiveness.