A charging device capable of improvement in charging uniformity on an object to be charged, an image forming apparatus having the charging device, and a discharge electrode forming method are provided. The charging device has a discharge electrode which is disposed in an interior space of a shield case, has a plurality of projections aligned in one direction from which a stream of ions is generated, the projections each being so constituted that a widthwise direction thereof makes a predetermined angle with respect to a first imaginary plane including an arrangement direction C of the projections on a second imaginary plane which includes the arrangement direction C and is perpendicular to the first imaginary plane in order that streams of ions generated from the projections that are arranged adjacent to each other in a lengthwise direction of the shield case can overlap each other when viewed in a widthwise direction of the shield case.