Hydraulic shock absorber of damping force adjusting type

A hydraulic shock absorber of damping force adjusting type comprising:

• a cylinder containing hydraulic fluid therein, a piston slidably received in said cylinder, a piston rod having one end connected to said piston and the other end extending out of said cylinder, a fluid passage through which the hydraulic fluid flows in response to sliding movement of said piston, a damping force adjusting valve provided in said fluid passage and adapted to change a flow-pass area of said fluid passage to adjust a damping force, and a proportional solenoid for driving said damping force adjusting valve, wherein said damping force adjusting valve comprises a valve body driven by said proportional solenoid and a cylindrical valve seat member for slidably guiding said valve body, and one of said valve seat member and said valve body has a circular port forming a part of said fluid passage and an oil groove extending in a circumferential direction to partially overlap with an opening end of the circular port and formed in a sliding surface including said circular port so that, when said fluid passage is opened by the other of said valve seat member and said valve body, an arc portion of said circular port and said oil groove are successively opened in this order.