An electromagnetic contactor has a contact device including a contact housing for housing a pair of fixed contact pieces and a movable contact piece disposed to contact with and separate away from the pair of fixed contact pieces, a pair of arc-extinguishing inner permanent magnets disposed on inner peripheral surfaces of the contact housing, and a pair of arc-extinguishing outer permanent magnets disposed on outer peripheral surfaces of the contact housing at a section facing the arc-extinguishing inner permanent magnets. Magnetic pole surfaces of the arc-extinguishing inner permanent magnets are arranged in a close vicinity of the movable contact piece and are magnetized to have the same polarity facing each other. The arc-extinguishing outer permanent magnets are magnetized in the same direction as the arc-extinguishing inner permanent magnets disposed nearby and coercive force of the arc-extinguishing outer permanent magnets is greater than of that the arc-extinguishing inner permanent magnets.