Abstract: A shaft seal comprises a casing having a circumferentially extending T-shaped recess surrounding the shaft and in which are located one or more adjoining rows of seal segments displaceable in the radial direction. Each seal segment includes a radially outer suspension part by which it is supported in the T-shaped recess, a radially inner seal part having axially spaced serrations confronting the surface of the shaft which, in cooperation with axially spaced seal strips on the shaft, establish a labyrinth type seal, and an intermediate part located between the radially outer and inner parts. The construction of at least the last row of segments on the low-pressure side of the seal is such that the median plane of the serrated seal part is axially offset from the median plane of the intermediate part in the direction of the high-pressure side of the seal.