A polarizing electrode for an electric double layer capacitor has good moldability and can achieving higher density of electrode and higher capacity, and an electric double layer capacitor employs the same. The electric double layer capacitor is made of an activated carbon obtained by activating a hard-to-graphitize material (for example, phenol resin) with water vapor, and the activated carbon has a median particle size within a range from 4 .mu.m to 8 .mu.m in the particle size distribution and at least a peak observed on the side of smaller particle size than the median particle size in the particle size distribution.