A solar cell element includes: a transparent body; a MgxAg1-x layer (0.001≦x≦0.045) having a thickness (2-13 nm); a ZnO layer having an arithmetical mean (Ra: 20-870 nm); and a transparent conductive layer. A photoelectric conversion layer including n-type and p-type layers further includes n-side and p-side electrodes. The ZnO layer is composed of ZnO columnar crystal grains grown on the MgxAg1-x layer, and each ZnO grain has a longitudinal direction along a normal line of the body, has a width increasing from the MgxAg1-x layer toward the transparent conductive layer, has a width which appears by cutting each ZnO grain along the normal line, and has a R2/R1 ratio (1.1-1.8). R1 represents the width of one end of the ZnO grain, and the one end is in contact with the surface of the MgxAg1-x layer, and R2 represents the width of the other end of the ZnO grain.