Abstract: To provide a polishing composition which can polish a polishing object composed of a hard brittle material having the Vickers hardness of greater than 1,500 HV at a high polishing rate under a condition of a high polishing load (polishing pressure) of 150 g/cm2 or more and can suppress the generation of a defect such as scratches on the surface of the polishing object or the generation of scratches on a polishing pad, a holding jig or the like when polishing a polishing object composed of a hard brittle material using a polishing apparatus having the polishing pad. The polishing composition contains abrasive grains, water and an additive agent that is adsorbed on the surface of the polishing pad to decrease unnecessary frictional resistance between the polishing pad and the polishing object.