| abstract |
Disclosed are: a liquid crystal composition which satisfies at least one property selected from a high upper limit temperature in a nematic phase, a low lower limit temperature in a nematic phase, a low viscosity, high optical anisotropy, high dielectric anisotropy, a high specific resistance, high stability against ultraviolet ray, high stability against heat and the like or has a proper balance between at least two properties selected from the above-mentioned properties; and an AM element having a short response time, a high voltage holding ratio, a high contrast ratio, a long service life and the like. Specifically disclosed are: a liquid crystal composition which comprises a specific pentacyclic compound having high optical anisotropy and high dielectric anisotropy as the first component, a specific compound having a low viscosity as the second component, and a specific tetracyclic compound having a high upper limit temperature as the third component, and which shows a nematic phase; and a liquid crystal display element comprising the composition. |