A phosphor layer having improved contrast and brightness characteristics and a display device including the same are provided. The phosphor layer is made out of an ultra-fine pigment, a dispersant, a phosphor, a photosensitizer and a binder. The phosphor has a uniform distribution along the thickness of the phosphor layer, and the pigment varies in content over the thickness of the phosphor layer. A method of forming the phosphor layer is based on existing phosphor layer processes and includes a reduced number of processing steps than a filter screen method, thereby markedly lowering the manufacturing costs. The phosphor layer can be used in a cathode ray tube, a plasma display panel, a field emission display, and an organic electroluminescent device.