According to the present invention there is provided a discharge cathode device comprising: a substrate, an Al layer formed on the substrate, and a layer of hexabonide of either lanthanum, a lanthanide or yttnium formed on the Al layer. There is also provided a method for manufacturing the same and a gas discharge display device having the same. This cathode device including a multilayer structure exhibits excellent conductivity, flexibility, and thermal oxidation resistance and also can be produced at low cost. The gas discharge display device achieves superior insulation and can be produced with a small number of steps.