A surface-coated cutting tool with a hard coating layer exhibiting an excellent flaking and chipping resistance in a high-speed heavy and intermittent cutting is provided. The vapor-deposited hard coating layer has a lower layer (Ti compound layer) and an upper layer (α-type Al2O3 layer). Thirty to 70% of Al2O3 crystal grains directly above the lower layer are oriented to (11-20) plane. Forty-five % or more of all of the Al2O3 crystal grains are oriented to (0001) plane. Preferably, the outermost surface layer of the lower layer is an oxygen-containing TiCN layer having oxygen content of 0.5 to 3 atomic % only within the depth region of 500 nm. The ratio of the number of Al2O3 crystal grains directly above the outermost surface layer to the number of crystal grains of the Ti carbonitride layer in the outermost surface layer is 0.01 to 0.5 in the interface.