A pneumatic tire comprises: a carcass ply turned up around a bead core in each bead portion from the inside to the outside of the tire so as to form a pair of turnup portions and a main portion therebetween; a bead apex disposed between the carcass ply turnup portion and main portion; and a reinforcing rubber layer disposed axially outside the carcass ply, wherein the bead apex extends radially outwardly from the bead core up to a position at a radial height in a range of from 10 to 25 mm from the radially outer end of the bead core; the reinforcing rubber layer extends radially outwardly beyond the maximum tire section width point, and radially inwardly beyond the radially outer edge of the turnup portion; and the bead apex and reinforcing rubber layer are each made of a hard rubber, and the difference in hardness therebetween is not more than 15 degrees. In a method of manufacturing the pneumatic tire, a bead-core-and-apex assembly is placed on each sides of a cylindrical surface of a tire-building drum around which a carcass ply is wound, wherein the radially outer end of a bead apex rubber of the assembly is positioned at a radial distance of not more than 8 mm from the cylindrical surface.