To provide a rubber composition for a breaker cushion, capable of providing rolling resistance characteristics and durability (particularly fracture characteristics) with good balance, and to provide a pneumatic tire having a breaker cushion manufactured using the same.

The rubber composition for a breaker cushion contains: a rubber component in which a total content of natural rubber and isoprene rubber is ≥65 mass% and a content of butadiene rubber modified with a specific silicon compound is ≥5 mass%; silica; carbon black; and an alkylphenol-sulfur chloride condensate represented by formula (2), wherein a content of the silica is 10-45 pts.mass, a content of the carbon black is 10-40 pts.mass, and a content of the alkylphenol-sulfur chloride condensate is 0.2-2.5 pts.mass, based on 100 pts.mass of the rubber component. In formula (2), R6, R7 and R8 are the same or different and each represent a 5-12C alkyl group; x and y are the same or different and each represent an integer of 2 to 4; and m represents an integer of 0 to 10.