| abstract |
Disclosed is a process for producing a water-absorbable resin having excellent physical properties with high efficiency. The process comprises a polymerization step of subjecting an aqueous monomer solution to a polymerization reaction to produce a water-containing gel and a drying step of drying the water-containing gel, wherein the drying procedure in the drying step is carried out using a continuous aeration belt-type drier, the water-containing gel to be subjected to the drying step has a solid content of 35 wt% or more, and the thickness change ratio (1) of the water-containing gel mounted on an aeration belt in the continuous aeration belt-type drier is 1.05 to 5, wherein the thickness change ratio (1) is represented by formula (1): the thickness change ratio (1) = (the maximum thickness of the water-containing gel as measured in the direction of the width of the aeration belt)/(the average thickness of the water-containing gel as measured in the direction of the width of the aeration belt) |