A polymer electrolyte fuel cell has a catalytic layer comprising a material and a polymer electrolyte, and the catalytic layer contains a fibrous material such as carbon whiskers or hydrophilic fibers. The polymer electrolyte fuel cell in the present invention having a catalytic layer comprising a catalytic material, an ion conducting material, an electron conducting material, and a void forming agent, and voids having diameters of from 60 to 1000 nm in the catalytic layer has a void volume of from 0.15 to 0.25 cm3/g.