We have fabricated InGaAs/AlGaAs strained‐layer distributed‐feedback grating‐surface‐emitting lasers with a buried grating structure. The device consists of a pumped distributed‐feedback section terminated on both sides by unpumped distributed Bragg reflector sections. cw operation in a stable single longitudinal mode is achieved up to six times threshold. The threshold current density is ∼600 A/cm2. The far‐field beam divergence is predominantly single lobed and diffraction limited. The spectral linewidth is 1.0 MHz at an output power of 8 mW.