Provided are a light emitting device and an organic EL element driving method wherein a light emission quality can be maintained by a self-repair without degrading the uniformity of light emission. A light emitting device is characterized in that the light emitting device comprises: a plurality of organic EL elements each of which is supplied with a current, thereby emitting a light; a constant current circuit that supplies a current to each of the organic EL elements; a reverse bias voltage circuit that applies a reverse bias voltage to each of the organic EL elements; and a switch circuit that connects the plurality of organic EL elements in series with the constant current circuit during light emission and that connects the plurality of organic EL elements in parallel with the reverse bias voltage circuit during application of the reverse bias voltage.