A method of driving a liquid crystal display element includes: applying a scan signal voltage to N scan electrodes simultaneously selected from among a plurality of scan electrodes formed in parallel on an inner surface of one of a pair of substrates between which a cholesteric liquid crystal selectively reflecting light having a predetermined wavelength is enclosed for a selection time T and applying a reset voltage for resetting the liquid crystal to a plurality of data electrodes formed on an inner surface of the other of the pair of substrates so as to intersect the plurality of scan electrodes when viewed in the normal direction of a substrate surface. The reset voltage is applied in synchronism with the application of the scan signal voltage. The step is repeated while shifting the N simultaneously selected scan electrodes sequentially to perform a display reset for putting the liquid crystal in a homeotropic state by applying the reset voltage to each pixel on each of the scan electrodes N times consecutively. The display reset is performed using such a selection time T and a simultaneously selected electrode count N that the product T×N satisfies T×N>τ where τ represents a response time required for the liquid crystal to change from a planar state to the homeotropic state.