A small-sized, inexpensive optical pickup apparatus can be assembled with high accuracy. The optical pickup apparatus has a various-purpose semiconductor laser, an integrated optical assembly for guiding outgoing light to an optical disk and for separating reflected light, a light receiver for receiving light and converting the received light into an electrical signal, and a coupling member for retaining a positional relationship among the various-purpose semiconductor laser, the integrated optical assembly, and the light receiver. By using a various-purpose semiconductor laser, the optical pickup apparatus can be made in a small size at low cost, and can be accurately assembled. The apparatus is also capable of accurately and efficiently detecting the optical power of the various-purpose semiconductor laser.