An anthraquinone type compound which is represented by the following general formula (I) and which exhibits yellow to orange-colored hue; and a composition for liquid crystal display element obtained by dissolving the compound into liquid crystal: ##STR1## (where: X.sup.1 and X.sup.2 denote sulfur or selenium; and R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 represent a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted naphthyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted pyridyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted pyrmidyl group or a tetrahydronaphthyl group, with the following exceptions:(1) X.sup.1 =X.sup.2 =S; R.sup.1 =R.sup.2 =a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group =(2) X.sup.1 =X.sup.2 =S; R.sup.1 =a substituted or unsubstituted naphthyl group; R.sup.2 =a phenyl group or a naphthyl group(3) X.sup.1 =X.sup.2 =Se; R.sup.1 =R.sup.2 =a tetrahydronaphthyl group).