An electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a conductive base; an organic photosensitive layer disposed on the conductive base, the organic photosensitive layer including a layer that constitutes a surface and contains a charge transport material, a binder resin, and silica particles in an amount of about 40% by weight or more; and an inorganic protective layer disposed on the organic photosensitive layer and having a surface roughness Ra of about 5 nm or less.

An electrophotographic photoreceptor includes an electroconductive substrate, a photosensitive layer provided on the electroconductive substrate, and an inorganic surface layer provided on the photosensitive layer, wherein a layer constituting an outermost surface of the photosensitive layer contains from 30% by weight to 70% by weight of silica particles and contains a biphenyl copolymerization type polycarbonate resin including a structural unit represented by the formula (PCA) and a structural unit represented by the formula (PCB) at a copolymerization ratio (PCA:PCB (molar ratio)) of 10:90 to 50:50:

##STR00001## wherein, R.sup.P1, R.sup.P2, R.sup.P3, and R.sup.P4 each represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, a cycloalkyl group having 5 to 7 carbon atoms, or an aryl group having 6 to 12 carbon atoms, and X.sup.P1 represents a phenylene group, a biphenylene group, a naphthylene group, an alkylene group, or a cycloalkylene group.

A unit for an image forming apparatus includes an electrophotographic photoreceptor that includes a conductive substrate, a photosensitive layer provided on the conductive substrate, and a surface layer provided so as to contact with an outermost surface of the photosensitive layer, and an exposure section that exposes the electrophotographic photoreceptor with a light having a wavelength () (nm) so as to form an electrostatic latent image on a charged surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor, wherein a surface roughness (Rz1) (nm) of the outermost surface of the photosensitive layer satisfies an expression of [(Rz1)()/(4(n2))] where a refractive index of the surface layer is set as (n2), and an outermost surface of the surface layer has a surface shape different from the outermost surface of the photosensitive layer.

An electrophotographic photoreceptor includes a conductive substrate, a charge-generating layer provided on or above the conductive substrate, a charge transport layer provided on the charge-generating layer and containing inorganic oxide particles, the charge-generating layer and the charge transport layer forming a photosensitive layer, and an inorganic protective layer provided on the photosensitive layer, in which in a cross-sectional observation of the charge transport layer, the relationship between the percentage area A of inorganic oxide particles contained in a surface level and the percentage area B of inorganic oxide particles contained in an inner level satisfies the percentage area A>the percentage area B of the charge transport layer, with the boundary therebetween at the thickness of the charge transport layer.

A developing apparatus including: a toner configured to have toner particle and external additive; a toner carrying member configured to carry the toner; and an charge injection member configured to inject electric charge into the toner, in which the external additive contain titanium atom-containing fine particles containing a compound containing titanium atoms, a presence ratio of the titanium atoms is 0.05 to 4.00 atomic % when a surface of the toner is measured using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the toner carrying member is a developing roller having a substrate having a conductive outer surface and a resin layer on the outer surface of the substrate, impedance of the developing roller measured under specific conditions is 1.0010.sup.6 or more, and a maximum value of a surface potential measured under specific conditions is less than 20.0 V.

An electrophotographic belt has a surface layer, wherein the surface layer includes a (meth)acrylic resin, a porous-spherical particle, and an electroconductive particle different from the porous-spherical particle; in an outermost surface of the surface layer, a surface of the porous-spherical particle is coated with the (meth)acrylic resin and the electroconductive particle; the ten-point average roughness Rz (according to JIS B 0601-1994) of the outermost surface of the surface layer is 0.5 times or larger and smaller than 2 times an average primary particle diameter of the porous-spherical particles; and an average spacing between local peaks S (according to JIS B 0601-1994) on the outermost surface of the surface layer is 4 times or larger and smaller than 30 times the average primary particle diameter of the porous-spherical particles.