Anode discharge electrolysis has been conducted with a molten LiCl-KCl system under 1 atm of Ar or N-2 at 723 K. By applying a 500 V dc voltage, a discharge was generated between the melt and the anode whose tip was positioned above the bath surface. The discharge was found to be stable, and the current density of the luminous column was estimated to be about 100 A cm(-2). In order to investigate the discharge characteristics, cell voltage was measured at various conditions. From the estimated current density and the variations of cell voltage, this anode discharge was considered to be a kind of arc discharge. The charge-transfer process between anode and melt during anode discharge electrolysis was also investigated. When a titanium or an iron wire was used as the anode, redox peaks corresponding to a Ti(II)/Ti or an Fe(II)/Fe couple were observed by cyclic voltammetry in the melt after anode discharge electrolysis. Since there was no titanium or iron source in the experimental apparatus except for the anode, it was indicated that cation emission from the anode is involved in the charge-transfer process. The estimated ionization current efficiency was dependent on the anode materials.