A hydraulic shock absorber comprising: a cylinder in which a working fluid is sealed therein; a piston slidably fitted into the cylinder and configured to partition an inside of the cylinder into two chambers (16, 17); a piston rod connected to the piston and extending to an outside of the cylinder; a sealing member configured to come in sliding contact with the piston rod and prevent leakage of the working fluid to the outside of the cylinder; a friction member installed to the cylinder at an inner side than the sealing member and constituted by an annular elastic rubber section in sliding contact with the piston rod and an annular base section to which the elastic rubber section is fixed; and a communication passage configured to reduce a pressure difference between both sides in an axial direction of the friction member, wherein the base section includes a bored disk type bottom section and a tube section extending from an outer circumferential side of the bottom section in the axial direction, the elastic rubber section is provided with a minimum inner diameter section and a diameter expanding section (138, 139) of both sides in the axial direction of the minimum inner diameter section formed at an inner circumferential side of the elastic rubber section, the elastic rubber section is provided with a tube section adhering surface which adheres to the tube section at an outer circumferential side of the elastic member section, and a cutout section is formed at least partially at the tube section side of an open surface opposite to a bottom section adhering surface fixed to the bottom section in the axial direction, characterized in that a deepest section of the cutout section is positioned at an opposite side of the bottom section with respect to the minimum inner diameter section in the axial direction of the friction member. a cylinder in which a working fluid is sealed therein; a piston slidably fitted into the cylinder and configured to partition an inside of the cylinder into two chambers (16, 17); a piston rod connected to the piston and extending to an outside of the cylinder; a sealing member configured to come in sliding contact with the piston rod and prevent leakage of the working fluid to the outside of the cylinder; a friction member installed to the cylinder at an inner side than the sealing member and constituted by an annular elastic rubber section in sliding contact with the piston rod and an annular base section to which the elastic rubber section is fixed; and a communication passage configured to reduce a pressure difference between both sides in an axial direction of the friction member, wherein the base section includes a bored disk type bottom section and a tube section extending from an outer circumferential side of the bottom section in the axial direction, the elastic rubber section is provided with a minimum inner diameter section and a diameter expanding section (138, 139) of both sides in the axial direction of the minimum inner diameter section formed at an inner circumferential side of the elastic rubber section, the elastic rubber section is provided with a tube section adhering surface which adheres to the tube section at an outer circumferential side of the elastic member section, and a cutout section is formed at least partially at the tube section side of an open surface opposite to a bottom section adhering surface fixed to the bottom section in the axial direction, characterized in that a deepest section of the cutout section is positioned at an opposite side of the bottom section with respect to the minimum inner diameter section in the axial direction of the friction member.