The present invention provides an electron emitting element which has good energy efficiency and which is capable of controlling a value of current flowing in an electron acceleration layer and an amount of emitted electrons by adjusting a resistance value of the electron acceleration layer and an amount of generated ballistic electrons. An electron emitting element 1 includes an electron acceleration layer 4 including a fine particle layer containing insulating fine particles. In the electron emitting element 1, Ie=α·R−0.67 where Ie [A/cm2] is electron emission current per unit area during the voltage application and R is element resistance [Ω·cm2] per unit area, the element resistance being obtained by dividing (a) a voltage applied between the electrode substrate 2 and the thin-film electrode 3 during the voltage application by (b) current in element per unit area which current flows between the electrode substrate 2 and the thin-film electrode 3 during the voltage application, and where α is not less than 2.0×10−6, and the electron emission current Ie is not less than 1.0×10−9.