Provided is a fabric that semi-permanently absorbs water even without being subjected to water absorption treatment, i.e., an absorbent fabric that has a pleasant feel, can quickly absorb perspiration when worn, has excellent comfort, and is soft and suitable for use in inner wear, sportswear, etc. The absorbent fabric according to the present invention includes polyester fibers in which ethylene terephthalate constitutes at least 95 mol % of repeating units, wherein a carboxylic acid terminated linear oligomer component is present on the surface of the polyester fibers, and the absorbency according to the JIS L1907 dripping method after washing 30 times according to the JIS L0217 103 C method is at most 5 seconds. The polyester fibers preferably contain 0.005-1 wt % of the S element.