A nonwoven fabric for an absorbent article has a plurality of first ridges and a plurality of first grooves on a first surface, each of the first ridges extending in a first direction and being provided with a first top surface including a first top section and first side surfaces, and each of the first grooves extending in the first direction; each of the first grooves of the nonwoven fabric has a plurality of second ridges and a plurality of bottom sections on the first surface, each of the second grooves being contiguous with two adjacent first ridges among the plurality of first ridges and having a second top section; the nonwoven fabric is provided with a plurality of predetermined recess units; and in each of the plurality of recess units, the fiber density of the first surface is lower than the fiber density of the first top surface.