Provided is a display element, which has simple member configuration, can be driven at a low voltage, and has high display contrast, white display reflectance and high display speed and less display nonuniformity in a long term. The display element has an electrolyte layer, which includes silver or a compound having silver in the chemical structure, between counter electrodes and drives the counter electrodes to melt and deposit the silver. The electrolyte layer contains a butyral resin, a coloring material having an average primary grain diameter of 200 nm or more but not more than 1,000 nm, and an organic solvent having a boiling point of 120° C. or higher but not higher than 300° C. The mass ratio of the organic solvent to the butyral resin is 10:1 or more but not more than 10:5.