A liquid crystalline compound which has a low viscosity and is electrically and chemically stable and compatible with other known liquid crystalline compounds at low temperatures, and a liquid crystal composition containing the same, which compound is a phenyl-4-cyclohexylbutylcyclohexane derivative expressed by the formula:

wherein R represents a hydrogen atom a linear or branched alkyl group of 1 to 15 carbon atoms, and X₁, X₂ and X₃ are each independent and X₁ and X₃ each represent a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom and X₂ represents a hydrogen atom or a linear or branched alkyl group of 1 to 15 carbon atoms (wherein one -CH₂CH₂- bond may be replaced by a -CH=CH-bond and one non-adjacent -CH₂- bond may be replaced by an oxygen atom), a halogen atom, a cyano group, a trifluoromethyl group or a trifluoromethoxy group.