PURPOSE: To obtain a body structure capable of displaying the function to protect a steering shaft by disposing a connecting member, extended in the longitudinal direction of a body, with its longitudinal ends supported at a body frame, below a steering shaft.

CONSTITUTION: A steering shaft 18 is extended longitudinally below a power plant 5, and its tip is connected to a rack pinion mechanism. Near the center of an engine room 1 and that below the steering shaft 18, a connecting member 17 is erected between a suspension cross member 10 and the reinforcement 2a of a dash panel 2. The impact load at the colliding time of a vehicle is absorbed by the connecting member 17, and the load acting upon the steering shaft 18 is thereby reduced so as to suppress deformation and damage. The steering shaft 18 is further prevented from being hit by pebbles and the like jumping up from the road surface during running and thereby prevented from being damaged by chipping.