A surface treatment apparatus which can efficiently form fine depressions and protrusions on a sheet selected from an inkjet sheet, a thermosensitive recording sheet, a heat developing sheet, an electrophotographic sheet, and a silver halide photographic sheet, and an image-forming apparatus incorporating this surface treatment apparatus, are provided. For this purpose, a surface treatment apparatus incorporating a sheet heating unit which heats a sheet having at least a thermoplastic resin layer, and a sheet depression and protrusion-forming unit disposed on the downstream process side of the sheet heating unit which forms depressions and protrusions on the thermoplastic resin layer, is provided.