To provide a fuse element made of Zn-Al-containing alloy and built into a tantalum capacitor etc. by which fusion temperature of fuse can be sufficiently lowered and safety against soldering mounting using a lead-free soft solder can be maintained.

An alloy having a composition which comprises Zn, Al and Ge and in which respective contents of Al and Ge are made to 0.5 to 15%, respectively, total amount of Al and Ge are 5 to 20% and the balance is composed of Zn is worked into a fine wire. The respective contents of Al and Ge are made to 0.5 to 1.5%, respectively, in order to regulate the ratio between melting heat quantity at 260 to 370°C (H(260 to 370°C)) and total melting heat quantity (ΣH), H(260 to 370°C)/ΣH, to ≥0.2 to make the fusion temperature of the fuse element markedly lower than the fusion temperature of a Zn-Al fuse element.