PURPOSE: To minimize the difference in engaging torque between the normal rotation and reverse rotation of a brake drum.

CONSTITUTION: This brake band has a band-like flexible back plate 3, a wet friction member 4 adhered to the inner circumferential surface of the back plate 3, and an oil discharging means for discharging the oil between the brake drum and the wet friction member 4 to the outside of frictional engaging area at brake operation in which the oil discharging characteristic is set relatively higher on the anchor side than on the application side to which the working force is applied. The oil discharge means is formed of an oil groove 9 formed on the wet friction member 4, an oil hole 10 formed on the back plate 3 to communicate with the oil groove 9, and a through-hole formed through the wet friction member 4 and the back plate 3, and their numbers, sizes or arrangements are differed between the application side and the anchor side, so that the oil discharging characteristic on the anchor side is higher than the application side (the application side is set lower than the anchor side).