PURPOSE: To provide a surface evaluation device which uses a simple optical device to acquire inclination information representing the distortion of a landscape inlaid in the surface.

CONSTITUTION: A surface evaluation device comprises a dot light source 1, convex lens 2, beam splitter 3, dichromatic filter 4, filter moving means 8, color video camera 7, and computer. A beam of light from the source is projected into the beam splitter 3, and the transmitted component is cast on the surface to be measured, and the reflected light thereby is fed back to the beam splitter 3 and converged on the dichromatic filter 4 by the convex lens 2 situated between the beam splitter 3 and filter 4, and the beam of light having passed through the filter 4 is fed to the video camera 7 for forming the image of the surface, and change in the color of each picture element of the image given on the camera 7 is pursued while the filter position is changed by the moving means 8 so that the dot light source image on the filter 4 moves in the direction perpendicular to the line of chromatic boundary. The inclination of the surface corresponding to the picture element is calculated from the distance of filter movement at color change, and the inclination is determined two-dimensionally.