In a current rectifying element (10), a barrier height φA of a center region (14) of a barrier layer (11) in a thickness direction thereof sandwiched between a first electrode layer (12) and a second electrode layer (13) is formed to be larger than a barrier height φB of a region in the vicinity of an interface (17) between the barrier layer (11) and the first electrode layer (12) and an interface (17) between the barrier layer (11) and the second electrode layer (13). The barrier layer (11) has, for example, a triple-layer structure of barrier layers (11a), (11b) and (11c). The barrier layers (11a), (11b) and (11c) are, for example, formed by SiN layers of SiNx2, SiNx1, and SiNx1 (X1