An inspection apparatus projects a laser beam on the surface of a SOI wafer and detects foreign matter on and defects in the surface of the SOI wafer by receiving scattered light reflected from the surface of the SOI wafer. The wavelength of the laser beam used by the inspection apparatus is determined so that a penetration depth of the laser beam in a Si thin film may be 10 nm or below to detect only foreign matter on and defects in the outermost surface and not to detect foreign matter and defects in a BOX layer. Only the foreign matter on and defects in the outermost surface layer can be detected without being influenced by thin-film interference by projecting the laser beam on the surface of the SOI wafer and receiving scattered light rays.