To provide an optical branching cable with which branching is facilitated and time for laying work is reduced.

This optical branching cable is constituted such that tension members 2 are arranged on both sides of an optical cable core A which is composed of one or more coated fiber tapes 1 laminated in the center, with a sheath 3 covering the tension members 2; that a plurality of lines of optical unit B, in which notches 4 for tearing are applied on the surface of the sheath 3, are coaxially twisted in one or multiple layers around the tension members; and that, by untwisting the optical unit B to a prescribed position, the cable can be easily branched.