PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a nonwoven fabric having high tensile strength and non-transparency in spite of a small unit weight, and a sheet material for an absorbent product obtained by using the nonwoven fabric.SOLUTION: A nonwoven fabric having a unit weight of 48 g/mor less is obtained by using main fiber having a single fiber cross section with flatness, defined by an expression mentioned below, of 2.0 or less and having two or more openings each with an aperture angle smaller than 120 degrees and a binder component. Flatness=A/B, where A denotes a maximum length in the fiber cross section, and B denotes a length in a direction perpendicular to the length A in the fiber cross section.
