An organic electroluminescent element having a structure in which at least an anode 2, a light emitting layer 3, and a cathode 4 are layered in this order, wherein the light emitting layer 3 containsa first host material, a second host material, and a light emitting material which is a dopant, and the first host material and the second host material both have a lowest excited triplet energy levelhigher than the lowest excited triplet energy level of the light emitting material. The element can inhibit degradation of performance over time when being operated, and has a long service life.