An optical pickup device and optical disc apparatus of the present invention include an optical element that prevents the incidence of light on unnecessary portions of the optical element so that stray light and noise are eliminated. The optical element include at least one substrate having a plurality of lens substrates that have embedded lenses made of a material with a higher refractive index than the at least one substrate. A shielding means limits the optical path so that incident light propagates only within a prescribed optical path formed on a light incidence-side or emission-side surface of one of the lens substrates. In addition, the shielding means is formed from an absorptive or reflective film placed in a region outside the prescribed optical path or through machining the region outside the prescribed optical path.