A polyvinyl chloride resin composition contains: from 0.005 to 5 parts by weight of a polyvinyl alcohol having structural units expressed by a formula (1) ; and from 0.01 to 5 parts by weight of a zinc compound, based on 100 parts by weight of a polyvinyl chloride resin. A polyvinyl chloride resin composition is thereby provided that is good in thermal stability and less colored while being shaped and also allows to obtain a shaped article thereof having less rough surface and showing little loss of transparency after melt process.

(R 1 and R 2 independently denote a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, or an acyl group, respectively. X denotes a single bond or an alkylene group having a carbon number of from 1 to 3 that may be mediated by an oxygen atom.)