Provided is an epitaxial substrate for semiconductor elements which suppresses an occurrence of current collapse. The epitaxial substrate for the semiconductor elements includes: a semi-insulating free-standing substrate formed of GaN being doped with Zn; a buffer layer being adjacent to the free-standing substrate; a channel layer being adjacent to the buffer layer; and a barrier layer being provided on an opposite side of the buffer layer with the channel layer therebetween, wherein the buffer layer is a diffusion suppressing layer that suppresses diffusion of Zn from the free-standing substrate into the channel layer.