A lens element 1 is formed by making use of an optical substrate, and includes a lens portion 2, an edge portion 6 in the form of a circular arc provided along the circumference of the lens portion 2, and a handling portion 4 which is integrated with the lens portion 2 and the edge portion 6 as well and extends with a width wider than that of the lens portion 2. The handling portion 4 can be caught and held by using a grasping means, a vacuum sucking means and so forth. With this, the lens element 1 can be handled by catching the handling portion 4 without directly touching the lens element 1, thus the lens element 1 being neither damaged nor contaminated, and being stably handled with ease.