To provide a high-pressure discharge lamp which prevents mercury liquefied when turning off the discharge lamp from adhering so as to cover the electrode tip and the whole surface of a coil wound around an electrode axle, and deteriorating starting performance and restarting performance of the lamp by the mercury ball adhered and generated at the electrode tip, and furthermore, prevents the lamp from becoming unable to be lighted due to a mercury bridge formed between opposed electrodes.

The coil 13 wound around the electrode axle 7 of an electrode 3 of the high-pressure discharge lamp is wound in a coarse winding state with an interval formed between the element wires W, and thin gaps 15, to which mercury is coagulated and adhered when turning off the lamp are formed between the element wires W and the electrode axle 7.