A hydraulic shock absorber which includes a first cylinder closed at the top thereof and having a piston rod which axially extends from the top of the first cylinder and through the interior thereof and provided at the lower end with a piston; and a second cylinder closed at the bottom and telescopically received within the first cylinder. The second cylinder is provided with two radial partition walls having respective hole portions defining oil paths between them and the piston rod. A ring-like elastic member is fitted on the piston rod within a chamber defined between the two partition walls so as to function as a check valve for the oil paths defined between the hole portions in the partition walls and the piston rod. The piston rod is provided with an inner oil path extending therethrough and with a check valve arranged in the inner oil path, thereby compensating for a loss of damping function when the oil path around the piston rod is closed.