Strain effects on optical gain in hexagonal bulk GaN are calculated and explained in terms of the change in the effective hexagonal crystal field component. Qualitatively, even unstrained wurtzite structures correspond to cubic crystals with a proper biaxial stress applied. Such biaxial stress results in effective tensile deformation along thecaxis ([111] direction in cubic crystals) and compressive strain in the perpendicular plane. Therefore, the light mode with a polarization vector parallel to thecaxis is suppressed, while the mode with a perpendicular polarization is enhanced in wurtzite structures. Thus, compared to cubic structures with similar material parameters, a strong optical anisotropy of wurtzites results in enhanced gain for certain light polarizations, which make wurtzite structures superior for lower-threshold lasing. These qualitative arguments are illustrated by numerical calculations of optical gain in biaxially strained wurtzite GaN, based on a6×6envelope-function Hamiltonian. ©1997 American Institute of Physics.