Objects of the present invention are to provide an organic compound having excellent properties, which is excellent in electron-injecting/transporting performances, has hole-blocking ability and is highly stable in a thin-film state, as a material for an organic electroluminescent device having a high efficiency and a high durability; and to provide an organic electroluminescent device having a high efficiency and a high durability using the compound. The invention relates to a compound having a substituted pyridyl group and a pyridoindole ring structure linked through a phenylene group, which is represented by the general formula (1); and an organic EL device comprising a pair of electrodes and at least one organic layer interposed between the electrodes, wherein the at least one organic layer contains the compound: wherein Ar represents a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic hydrocarbon group, a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic heterocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted condensed polycyclic aromatic group; R1 to R14 may be the same or different from each other and each represents a hydrogen atom, a fluorine atom, a chlorine atom, a cyano group, a trifluoromethyl group, a linear or branched alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic hydrocarbon group, a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic heterocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted condensed polycyclic aromatic group; n represents an integer of 1 to 3; and W, X, Y, and Z respectively represent a carbon atom or a nitrogen atom, provided that only one of W, X, Y, and Z represents a nitrogen atom, and the nitrogen atom does not have the substituent of R7, R8, R9, or R10).