A cylindrical coil electrode (10) incorporated in a vacuum interrupter comprises a cylindrical body (12) having an opening at one end thereof, three electrical connectors (16) provided between the edge surface (15) of the opening of the cylindrical body and a main electrode (11). A second cylindrical coil electrode having slits parallel to the first cylindrical coil electrode is mounted in an opposing manner. Because of the above structure, one-turn current flow throughout the current paths so that a uniform axial magnetic field is applied to the main electrode, and an arc current can be uniformly distributed over the entire surface of the main electrode, thereby improving the current interruption performance of the vacuum interrupter.