To provide a rubber composition which gives a tire which, while retaining excellent abrasion resistance and driving stability attainable by a sulfur vulcanization system, exhibits an improvement in excellent thermal stability attainable by an organic peroxide vulcanization system and has improved initial grip properties and especially the degradation of the grip properties of which with an increase in running distance is reduced.

Based on 100 pts.wt. diene rubber, this rubber composition contains 0.2-3.0 pts.wt. sulfur, an organic peroxide in an amount of 0.02-0.20 pt.wt. in terms of active oxygen, and 2-5 pts.wt. tackifier.