Abstract: Disclosed herein is a pneumatic radial tire having an improved bead portion durability, which comprises a main tire body reinforcement of a radial carcass ply and a bead portion reinforcement of a metal cord layer arranged along the turnup portion of the carcass ply wound around the bead core of the bead portion from the inside to the outside. In the tire of this type, the bead portion reinforcement is composed of a support reinforcing layer and a turnup-end protecting layer independently arranged on the inside and outside of the bead core, and the turnup-end protecting layer has a modulus of elasticity at 1% elongation in cord direction smaller than that of the support reinforcing layer.