A spinning reel (10) includes a rotation transmission mechanism (24) that transmits a rotation of a handle (14) to a rotor (20). The rotation transmission mechanism includes a drive shaft (40) and a drive gear (42). The drive shaft (40) is mounted to the reel unit (12) so as to be rotatable about an axis arranged skew to the spool shaft (16). The drive gear (42) is mounted to the drive shaft (40) so as to be unitarily rotatable therewith. The spinning reel includes a rotation control mechanism (26) mounted between the handle (14) and the drive shaft (40). The rotation control mechanism (26) transmits the rotation of the handle to the drive shaft only when the handle (14) is rotated in a direction corresponding to the fishing-line winding direction. The rotation control mechanism includes a handle brake portion (68) that applies a braking force to the rotation of the handle (14) when the handle is rotated in a reverse direction relative to the direction.
