It is anticipated that sliding conditions for sliding members will become harsher in the future. If sliding in a borderline lubrication state, in which maintaining adequate lubricating oil between sliding surfaces is not possible, and the oil film is ruptured and the sliding members come in contact with each other, continues for a long time, adhesion of abrasion powder and abrasive frictional wear may proceed, ultimately leading to locking due to seizure or to abnormal frictional wear. In the present invention, by appropriately setting the shape (size, depth, opening area) of recesses according to the sliding load rather than simply providing countless identical recesses on the surface of the sliding member, a highly efficient, highly reliable sliding member is provided, wherein frictional loss and wear are reduced even under harsher sliding conditions.