PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thin film magnetic head in which an effective track width is prevented from spreading and very high output stability is obtained by more reducing read-blurring at both ends in the track width direction of a magnetoresistance effect film. SOLUTION: On both sides of an MR film 7 in the track width direction, a 1st electrode layer 13 and a magnetic domain control layer 9 are layered. When using, as the reference plane G, the plane on the side of a lower gap layer 5 of the magnetic domain control layer 9 at the positions where the 1st electrode layer 13 and the magnetic domain control layer 9 are layered, the spacing L1 from the reference plane G up to the plane on the side of the upper gap layer 17 of the electrode layer 13 is made narrower than the spacing L2 from the reference plane G up to the plane on the side of the upper gap layer 17 of the MR film 7. Moreover, the spacing L3 between a lower magnetic shielding layer 3 and an upper magnetic shielding layer 19 at the positions where the magnetic domain layer 9 and the 1st electrode layer 13 are layered is set narrower than the spacing L4 between the lower magnetic shielding layer 3 and the upper magnetic shielding layer 19 at the position of the MR film 7. COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI