The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device that can achieve sufficient front contrast ratio and front white brightness at the same time. The present invention is a liquid crystal display device including a front polarizing plate, a liquid crystal cell, a back polarizing plate, and an optical element having polarization characteristics, which are arranged in the stated order, wherein the back polarizing plate has a lower contrast than the front polarizing plate, and there is substantially no air layer between the back polarizing plate and the optical element having polarization characteristics.