PURPOSE: To prevent a deterioration in performance by specifying the mounting position of a hydrogen getter to easily remove impurity gasses in a high load metal vapor discharge lamp having a luminous tube made of quartz.

CONSTITUTION: A luminous tube 1 has a pair of electrodes 6, 6' made of quartz and the tube wall load is set to 15 w/cm2 or more. A hydrogen getter 5 is mounted in the space between two cylinders whose height from the central axis of the luminous tube 1 is equal to the distance between the electrodes 6, 6' and radii are R+3cm and R+1cm (R is the radius of the luminous tube 1). The potential of the hydrogen getter 5 is made to equal that of either one electrode of the luminous tube 1. By specifying the position of the hydrogen getter, impurity gasses can easily be removed. Therefore, a deterioration in performance can be prevented.