To manufacture an optical element for laser at low cost which has high reliability by using Zr or Hf as a vapor deposition material.

The optical element for laser composed of an optical multilayer film 4 in which a film 2 of a high refractive index material and a film 3 of a low refractive index material are laminated on a base plate 1 is manufactured. The film 2 of the high refractive index material is composed of ZrO2 or HfO2. In a first process, metal Zr or Hf is heated and evaporated in a chamber in which the base plate 1 is set. In a second process, gaseous O2 is introduced into the chamber which is filled with the vapor of Zr or Hf. In a third process, dense ZrO2 or HfO2 is deposited on the base plate by accelerating while causing a reaction of Zr or Hf and O in a gaseous phase. In the third process, the dense ZrO2 or HfO2 is deposited by accelerating by an ion plating method or an ion assist method. For example, the film 2 composed of the high refractive index material composed of ZrO2 or HfO2 and the film 3 of the low refractive index material composed of SiO2 are alternately laminated on the base plate 1, thus the optical multilayer film is formed.