A protecting layer of a plasma display panel is constituted to include a substrate protecting layer formed of a thin film of a metal oxide containing at least one of magnesium oxide, strontium oxide, calcium oxide and barium oxide, and a particle layer formed by adhering the single-crystal particles of magnesium oxide, which is enclosed by either specific two-kind orientation faces of a (100) plane and a (111) plane or specific three-kind orientation faces of a (100) plane, a (110) plane and a (111) plane, to the substrate protecting layer. A panel drive circuit constitutes a one-field periodby arranging a second subfield group composed of a plurality of subfields, each of which has a writing period (Tw) for erasing a wall charge to establish a keeping discharge and a sustaining period (Ts), timely after a first subfield group composed of a plurality of subfields, each of which has an initialization period (Ti), a writing period (Tw) for establishing a wall charge to establish the keeping discharge and the sustaining period (Ts), thereby driving the panel.