  We present a measurement of the K-band luminosity function (LF) of field
galaxies obtained from near-infrared imaging of a sample of 345 galaxies
selected from the Stromlo-APM Redshift Survey. The LF is well-fitted over the
ten magnitude range -26 < M_K < -16 by a Schechter function with parameters
alpha = -1.16 +- 0.19, M* = -23.58 +- 0.42, phi* = 0.012 +- 0.008 Mpc^-3
assuming a Hubble constant of H_0 = 100 km/s/Mpc. We have also estimated the LF
for two subsets of galaxies subdivided by the equivalent width of the Halpha
emission line at EW(Halpha) = 10A. There is no significant difference in LF
shape between the two samples, although there is a hint (~1 sigma significance)
that emission line galaxies (ELGs) have M* roughly one magnitude fainter than
non-ELGs. Contrary to the optical LF, there is no difference in faint-end slope
alpha between the two samples.
