To provide an organic electroluminescent element which has low driving voltage, high luminous efficiency and a long service life by combining various materials for organic electroluminescent elements having excellent injection / transport ability for holes and electrons, excellent electron blocking ability, or excellent stability and durability in a thin film state so that the characteristics of respective materials can be effectively exerted as materials for organic electroluminescent elements having high luminous efficiency and high durability. To also provide an organic electroluminescent element wherein low driving voltage is maintained or increase in the driving voltage is effectively suppressed by controlling the doping concentration of an electron acceptor and / or the film thickness of an organic layer that contains an electron acceptor. An organic electroluminescent element which sequentially comprises at least a positive electrode, a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, an electron transport layer and a negative electrode in this order, and which is characterized in that the hole injection layer contains an aryl amine compound represented by general formula (1) and an electron acceptor. (In the formula, Ar1-Ar4 may be the same as or different from each other, and each represents a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic hydrocarbon group, a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic heterocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted condensed polycyclic aromatic group.)