A projection display unit includes: an illumination optical system including one or more light sources; a reflective liquid crystal device that generates image light by modulating light from the illumination optical system, based on an input image signal; a polarizing beam splitter disposed on an optical path between the illumination optical system and the reflective liquid crystal device; a polarization compensation device disposed on an optical path between the polarizing beam splitter and the reflective liquid crystal device, and the polarization compensation device that provides a phase difference to light incident thereon to change a polarization state of the light; and a projection optical system that projects image light generated by the reflective liquid crystal device and then being incident thereon through an optical path, the optical path passing through the polarization compensation device and the polarizing beam splitter. The polarization compensation device has a first surface and a second surface that faces each other along an optical axis, and provides a phase difference between absolute values at light incidence from the first surface and at light incidence from the second surface, the absolute values being opposite in polarity to each other and being substantially equal to each other.