A liquid crystal composition containing a polymerizable compound according to the present invention is used in a liquid crystal display element to which a liquid crystal alignment capability is provided by polymerization. The composition contains a polymerizable compound that polymerizes without a photopolymerization initiator or with only an extremely small amount of photopolymerization initiator. Therefore, the alignment after the polymerization becomes more stable and the display characteristics do not degrade. Thus, the polymerizable compound is suitable as a practical component of the liquid crystal composition. A liquid crystal display element that uses the liquid crystal composition containing a polymerizable compound according to the present invention can be suitably used for VA and IPS liquid crystal display elements.