An ink
cartridge includes a thermal ink-jet head provided with a heat generating portion that generates
thermal energy for ejecting the ink from an ejection opening, in which: the heat generating portion has, on its surface in contact with the ink, a protective layer containing at least one selected from the group consisting of a
silicon oxide, a
silicon nitride, and a
silicon carbide; and the ink contains a substance that dissolves the protective layer and a compound represented by (R2)nA—. . . —N(R1)C(O)R3(R4)—(A) where A represents alkylene or alkenylene which forms a ring with a
nitrogen atom, a
carbonyl group and R3, R1 and R4 each represent
hydrogen atom, hydroxyl,
alkyl, alkenyl, acyl, carbamoyl, carboxyl or
sulfonyl, R2 represents a group bonded to an arbitrary
carbon atom of A and represents
hydrogen atom, hydroxyl,
alkyl, alkenyl, acyl, carbamoyl, carboxyl or
sulfonyl, n represents 0 to 4, and R3 represents carbon or
nitrogen atom, and a content X (% by
mass) of the compound satisfies 1≦X≦30.