The present invention provides a polarizing plate with an optical compensation layer capable of contributing to the reduction in thickness, enhancing viewing angle properties, realizing a high contrast, preventing interference nonuniformity and heat nonuniformity, suppressing a color shift, realizing satisfactory color reproducibility, and preventing light leakage in a black display satisfactorily, and a liquid crystal panel, a liquid crystal display apparatus, and an image display apparatus using the polarizing pate with an optical compensation layer. A polarizing plate with an optical compensation layer of the present invention comprises a polarizer, a first optical compensation layer, and a second optical compensation layer in the stated order, wherein the first optical compensation layer has a refractive index profile of nx>ny=nz, exhibits wavelength dispersion properties in which an in-plane retardation Re1 decreases toward a shorter wavelength side, and has the in-plane retardation Re1 of 90 to 160 nm; and the second optical compensation layer comprises a film layer, and has a refractive index profile of nx=ny>nz, an in-plane retardation Re2 of 0 to 20 nm, and a thickness direction retardation Rth2 of 30 to 300 nm.