A flat display apparatus comprises a flat display panel in which at least some of display electrodes are formed from a scan electrode and an address electrode arranged so as to intersect each other, and has a characteristic such that as the amount of driving load of the flat display panel increases, the activation energy of discharge gas increases and the panel driving voltage decreases. In a driving method for the flat display apparatus, when the amount of driving load of the flat display panel increases (S1 to S4), the driving voltage of the scanning electrode or the driving voltage (Vd) of the address electrode is reduced.