A high-pressure discharge lamp comprises a lamp tube made of quartz glass and having a central portion formed in a spherical shape, and a pair of opposing tungsten electrodes inserted into the lamp tube. At least one of the tungsten electrodes is made of a tungsten material which contains more than 10 ppm of one of Co and Ni, or 10 ppm of Co and Ni in total, or a tungsten material which contains 20 ppm or more of at least two of Fe, Co and Ni in total, or a tungsten material which contains 20 ppm or more of Fe. Fe, Co and Ni belong to iron-group metals. The inter-electrode distance, i.e., distance between the leading ends of both tungsten electrodes is set to approximately 1-2 mm or less.