Two- or three-ring compounds having 1,2,3-trifluorophenyl substituent (3F-compounds) were synthesized and their physical properties were measured to evaluate the applications to active matrix liquid crystal displays (A M-LCDs). The 3 F-compounds gave good physical properties for AM-LCDs and, in particular, an excellent voltage-holding ratio (VHR), comparable to the compounds having 1,2-difluorophenyl substituents (2F-compound) which are currently used for AM-LCDs. The important point is that 3F-compounds showed much lower threshold voltage (V-10) than 2F-compounds. It was demonstrated that one mixture of 3F-compounds with 2F-compounds gave V-10 of about 1.30 V at 5.5 mu m-cell gap. From these results, it was concluded that the 3 F-compounds are excellent liquid crystalline materials for A M-LCDs with a low-voltage IC driver, for example the 3V IC driver.