A surface-light-emitting device including a semiconductor substrate, and a laminar semiconductor structure consisting of a plurality of semiconductor layers formed by epitaxial growth on the semiconductor substrate, the laminar semiconductor structure including a light-generating layer, and two multi-film reflecting layers between which the light-generating layer is interposed and which constitute a light resonator for reflecting a light generated by the light-generating layer, the structure having a light-emitting surface at one of opposite ends thereof remote from the substrate, so that the light generated by the light-generating layer is emitted from the light-emitting surface, wherein the two multi-film reflecting layers consist of a first multi-film reflecting layer formed principally of AlGaInP on the substrate, and a second multi-film reflecting layer formed principally of AlGaAs on one of opposite sides of the light-generating layer which is remote from the substrate.