A liquid crystal display which reduces unsatisfactory display caused by distorted initial alignment direction in a liquid crystal alignment layer for IPS type displays, realizes high-quality images. The liquid crystal display contains alignment layers 109 placed between a pair of substrates 101 and 102 , at least one of which is transparent, liquid crystal layer 110' sealed between the alignment layers, common electrode 103 and source electrode 105 for applying an electrical field to the liquid crystal layer, thin-film transistors connected to each of these electrodes, polarizer plate 114 provided on at least one of the substrates, wherein at least one of the alignment layers 109 is composed of a photo-reactive polyimide and/or polyamic acid.