A surgical manipulator having at least two joints at a distal end thereof is intuitively operated without causing an operator to become confused. The present invention is a device for operating a surgical manipulator provided with, at a distal end of an elongate shaft: a rotational joint that is rotatable about a longitudinal axis of the shaft； and a flexing joint that is on a distal-end side of the rotational joint and that can be flexed about an axis that intersects the longitudinal axis. Provided is a surgical-manipulator operating device (18) including: a gripping portion (18a) that is gripped by an operator； a rotation input portion (18c) that is provided with a rotating member (18e) attached to the gripping portion (18a) in a rotatable manner and with which rotation instructions for the rotational joint are input in accordance with rotational angles of the rotating member (18e)； and flexion input portions (18f and 18g) with which flexion instructions for the flexing joint are input in directions corresponding to fixed circumferential-direction operating positions on the rotating member (18e).
