Liquid crystal composition

In a liquid crystal composition comprising a host liquid crystal and a pleochroic dye dissolved therein as a guest material, the improvement wherein the pleochroic dye contains an anthraquinone-based dye yielding a magenta color or an orange color, said anthraquinone-based dye being represented by the general formula:

• ##STR91## wherein X is an amino group or a hydroxyl group, and Ar is an aryl group which may be substituted by an alkyl group, an alkoxyalkyl group, an aryloxyalkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an alkoxy group, an alkoxyalkoxy group, an arylalkoxy group, an acyloxy group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, an aryloxycarbonyl group, an aryl group, a halogen atom, a cyano group or a nitro group.