The display device includes a display portion having a cavity portion surrounded by wall surfaces, at least one part of the wall surfaces being formed of a transparent member and forming a structural color forming surface provided with fine asperities having predetermined regularity, a liquid being hermetically sealed to have a liquid surface in the cavity portion and having a refractive index approximately equivalent to that of the transparent member, an actuator giving a disturbance to the liquid to bring the liquid into contact with the forming surface and a control unit controlling driving of the actuator to switch reflection and transmission characteristics of light when the light is incident into the forming surface, thereby controlling color display using reflected light formed by the forming surface.