This invention relates to a friction material and, more particularly, to a wet friction material capable of being manufactured using conventional paper-making processes. Long fibers are used to form a wet-laid homogeneous skeletal matrix, which is reinforced by dispersing particulate materials throughout the friction matrix and throughout the matrix binder, specifically at the interstices of adjacent fibers, to significantly increase the shear strength of the material while having a near negligible effect on fluid flow through the material.