A pad-shaped absorbent article having a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction, opposite lateral ends and opposite longitudinal sides and including a liquid-permeable topsheet defining a skin-facing surface, a backsheet defining a garment-facing surface and an absorbent body interposed between the top- and backsheets (11, 12), characterised in that: the topsheet, the backsheet and the absorbent body respectively have an extensibility in the longitudinal direction; the extensibility of the backsheet is an elastic extensibility; the backsheet has first regions extending across the absorbent body in the transverse direction to express an elastic extensibility and second regions having an elastic extensibility in the longitudinal direction lower than that of the first regions; the absorbent body has a plurality of slits (33a, 33b) extending in the transverse direction and expresses an extensibility in the longitudinal direction, when the article is subjected to tensile forces opposite in the longitudinal direction so as to open the slits; and the absorbent body is arranged so that at least one of the slits (33a, 33b) overlaps with the first regions, the first regions in the backsheet are formed with the first regions defined by a non-extensible first sheet formed with multi-pleats regions each defined by a plurality of pleats extending in the transverse direction and lying side-by-side in the longitudinal direction and elastically extensible second sheets lying between the first sheet and the absorbent body and joined to the first sheet so as to extend across the absorbent body in the transverse direction and to extend across the multi-pleats regions in the longitudinal direction; the backsheet is formed with the multi-pleats regions arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction and the second regions, which are non-extensible pleat-free regions defined between each pair of the adjacent multi-pleats regions; and the absorbent body and the backsheet are joined to each other. the topsheet, the backsheet and the absorbent body respectively have an extensibility in the longitudinal direction; the extensibility of the backsheet is an elastic extensibility; the backsheet has first regions extending across the absorbent body in the transverse direction to express an elastic extensibility and second regions having an elastic extensibility in the longitudinal direction lower than that of the first regions; the absorbent body has a plurality of slits (33a, 33b) extending in the transverse direction and expresses an extensibility in the longitudinal direction, when the article is subjected to tensile forces opposite in the longitudinal direction so as to open the slits; and the absorbent body is arranged so that at least one of the slits (33a, 33b) overlaps with the first regions, the first regions in the backsheet are formed with the first regions defined by a non-extensible first sheet formed with multi-pleats regions each defined by a plurality of pleats extending in the transverse direction and lying side-by-side in the longitudinal direction and elastically extensible second sheets lying between the first sheet and the absorbent body and joined to the first sheet so as to extend across the absorbent body in the transverse direction and to extend across the multi-pleats regions in the longitudinal direction; the backsheet is formed with the multi-pleats regions arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction and the second regions, which are non-extensible pleat-free regions defined between each pair of the adjacent multi-pleats regions; and the absorbent body and the backsheet are joined to each other.