The invention discloses a display optical system for reducing ghosting and a head-mounted display device. The display optical system for reducing ghosting comprises a display screen, a polarization beam splitting element, a first polarization conversion element, a partial transmission and partial reflection element, a second polarization conversion element and a polarization piece which are arranged in sequence; the display optical system further comprises a lens arranged on the side, facing the display screen, of the partial transmission and partial reflection element; the lens is attached tothe first polarization conversion element, and/or the lens is attached to the polarization light splitting element; the first polarization conversion element and the polarization light splitting element are arranged at intervals, a substrate is arranged on the surface, exposed in the air, of the first polarization conversion element, and an antireflection film is arranged on the substrate. According to the technical scheme, ghosting caused by Fresnel reflection generated when interfaces of different elements in a folded light path are exposed in air can be reduced, so that the image quality of the display optical system is improved, and the display optical system has the characteristic of light weight.