Recently, thin film electroluminescent (TFEL) technology has made great progress in the development of multi-color display panels. In this paper, first, the state of the art in TFEL display devices is reviewed. Second, the characteristics of various kinds of color emitting materials are discussed, and present thin film deposition techniques and multi-color picture element composition methods are outlined. Third, the limitations of large capacity color EL displays based on signal pulse retardation are discussed, and then it is shown that a panel with up to approximately 1000 scanning lines can be realized by using mainly higher conductive transparent electrode materials and others. Finally, the future prospects of TFEL display devices for full color EL displays and associated problems are also mentioned.