The present application discloses a photomask for manufacturing an active switch and a method for manufacturing a display panel. The photomask includes a light shielding region, a semi-transmissive region, a light transmitting region and a hollowed-out region, where the light shielding region corresponds to a metal layer of the active switch and is configured to be lighttight; the semi-transmissive region corresponds to a channel region of the active switch, and is configured to be partially transmissive; the light transmitting region is a photomask region other than the light shielding region and the semi-transmissive region and is configured to be completely transmissive; and the hollowed-out region is located within the semi-transmissive region and is configured to be completely transmissive.