To provide a liquid crystal display device having improved display contrast and visual field angle characteristics of a display color without lowering a front contrast and provided with a bend alignment cell or a HAN mode cell excellent in high speed display.

This liquid crystal display device having a bend alignment liquid crystal cell or a HAN mode liquid crystal cell comprises an optical compensation sheet which is provided between the liquid crystal cell and at least one polarizing plate and having the minimum value of the absolute value of retardation in a direction inclined from the direction of the normal of the optical compensation sheet.