In-plane switching liquid crystal displays (IPS-LCDs) have been fabricated by a photo-alignment method using poly (vinyl cinnamate), and the effect of the azimuthal anchoring energy on the electrooptical performance has been studied theoretically and experimentally. The results show a large reduction in the driving voltage of IPS samples with decreasing azimuthal anchoring energy, which demonstrates the usefulness of the photo-alignment method for fabricating IPS-LCDs.