A liquid crystal composition containing a polymerizable compound of the present invention has excellent characteristics of being able to prepare a PSA type liquid crystal display element with no problem of depositing in a wide temperature range, having high polymerization speed, high liquid crystal alignment regulation force after polymerization, excellent display qualities with no display unevenness, and excellent display characteristics with no defects in display characteristics such as image sticking and is appropriate as a liquid crystal composition in a practical use. Further, the liquid crystal display element with the above-described liquid crystal composition can be appropriately used for a PSA type liquid crystal display element.

An object of the invention is to provide a polymerizable compound having small refractive index anisotropy and having high storage stability and high alignment properties when constituting a polymerizable liquid crystal composition, and provide a polymerizable liquid crystal composition containing the polymerizable compound. Further, the object is to provide a polymer produced by polymerizing the polymerizable liquid crystal composition and an optically anisotropic body including the polymer. The present invention provides a polymerizable compound represented by general formula (I), a polymerizable liquid crystal composition containing the compound as a constituent component, and further provides a polymer produced by polymerizing the polymerizable liquid crystal composition and an optically anisotropic body including the polymer.

The invention provides a polymerizable composition including a compound that has a mesogenic group and satisfying an expression represented by Expression (1): 1.0YI/n50.0, wherein YI represents a yellowness index of a material including only a compound having a mesogenic group in the polymerizable composition, and n represents a refractive index anisotropy of a material including only a compound having a mesogenic group in the polymerizable composition, with the proviso that a chiral compound having a mesogenic group is excluded in the material including only the compound having the mesogenic group. The polymerizable composition has high storage stability and is unlikely to cause an increase of the content of a polymer component when being added to a polymerizable liquid crystal composition, and is excellent in adhesiveness, is not unlikely to cause discoloration, and exhibits good coating properties and good alignment properties in preparing an optical anisotropic body.

The present invention provides: a liquid crystal alignment film which has good liquid crystal alignment properties, while having excellent pretilt angle developability; a liquid crystal display element which is provided with this liquid crystal alignment film; and a liquid crystal aligning agent which enables the achievement of this liquid crystal alignment film. The present invention provides a liquid crystal aligning agent which contains: as a component (A), a compound that has a thermally crosslinkable group and a photo-alignment group represented by formula (pa-1), wherein the thermally crosslinkable group is capable of forming a covalent bond by being reacted with a carboxy group; and as a component (B), a polyamic acid and a solvent. (In formula (pa-1), A represents a phenylene group or the like; R1 represents COO or OCO; R2 represents a cyclohexane-1,4-diyl group; R3 represents a cyclohexane-1,4-diyl group; R4 represents a linear or branched alkyl group having 1 to 40 carbon atoms, and some or all of the hydrogen atoms in this alkyl group may be substituted by fluorine atoms; D represents an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or NRd-; a represents an integer of 0 to 3; and * denotes a bonding position.)