Hydraulic shock absorber

The present invention provides a hydraulic shock absorber capable of detecting that a damping force generation mechanism is stuck at a soft characteristic. When a state having abnormality is maintained for a certain time period with the proportional solenoid valves 26 and 27 fixed at a hard side, a controller determines that the proportional solenoid valve 26 or the proportional solenoid valve 27 is stuck at a soft side, and switches a control mode from a failure mode to a passive mode. As a result, even when the proportional solenoid valve 26 or the proportional solenoid valve 27 is stuck at the soft side, it is possible to secure a ride comfort and running stability of a vehicle.