The invention pertains to a sheet material characterized in that it is a non-woven sheet material having an areal weight of 10-70 g/m2, which comprises 30-70 wt.% of aramid pulp, 30-70 wt.% of a fire-retardant short fiber material selected from para-aramid, glass fibers, carbon fibers, and PEEK (polyether etherketone), and 0.5-15 wt.% of a polymer binder. It has been found that the sheet material according to the invention is soft, pliable, and light weight. It can be applied as backing onto upholstery material without detrimentally affecting the properties thereof. At the same time, the sheet material according to the invention has very good fire-retardant properties. The aramid pulp preferably is PPTA pulp. The fire-retardant short fiber material preferably selected from para-aramid fibers and glass fibers.