We perform measurements of the differential gain of modelocked semiconductor quantum well lasers over a wide spectral range employing a modified “electrical pump-optical probe” technique. We find that the two-dimensional density of states expresses itself significantly in the spectral dependence and value of the differential gain. Contributions of the second electronic level are observed in the high-energy range with an increasing in the differential gain, whereas a slightly decreasing differential gain with decreasing wavelength is observed in spectral regimes, where only the first quantized level contributes. ©1997 American Institute of Physics.