Provided are a water-absorbent resin easily separable from a recyclable resource in recovering the recyclable resource, and an absorbent article containing an absorbent material containing the water-absorbent resin. The water-absorbent resin according to the present invention has such a structure that a polymer formed from a water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated monomer is crosslinked by using a post-crosslinking agent. The water-absorbent resin has (1) a water-retention capacity for physiological saline of 35 g/g or more, (2) a water-absorption capacity for physiological saline under a load of 4.14 kPa of 10 mL/g or more, (3) an initial gel viscosity of 3000 mPa·s or more, and (4) a gel decomposition index of 0.60 or less: gel decomposition index = B/A wherein A represents an initial gel viscosity (mPa·s), and B represents a gel viscosity after one day (mPa·s).
