The present invention provides an organic electroluminescent element that includes a pair of electrodes and a plurality of organic compound layers being disposed between the pair of electrodes. The organic compound layers include a luminescent layer containing a blue phosphorescent luminescent material and a host material having the lowest excited triplet energy (T1) of 272 kJ/mol (65 kcal/mol) or more, and hole transport layers. One of the hole transport layers is a layer adjacent to the luminescent layer, and when the ionization potentials of the luminescent layer, the hole transport layer adjacent to the luminescent layer, and another of the hole transport layers, respectively, designated to Ip1, Ip2 and Ip3, the relationship Ip1>Ip2>Ip3 is satisfied.