A disposable diaper has been patented comprising: a topsheet; a backsheet; a front waist region extending between and to transversely opposite side edges of the disposable diaper; a rear waist region extending between and to the transversely opposite side edges of the diaper; a crotch region located longitudinally between the front waist region and the rear waist region; a waist-hole; and a pair of leg-holes. The diaper also comprises at least one of said front and rear waist regions including a covering zone formed integrally with said crotch region, said covering zone including a longitudinal end at which longitudinal ends of each of said topsheet and backsheet are superimposed together continuously between the transversely opposite side edges of the diaper without any intervening structure between the topsheet and backsheet, said covering zone further including a terminal longitudinal edge which coincides with and is coextensive with terminal longitudinal edges of each of said top sheet and backsheet, said at least one of said front and rear waist regions further including an elastic zone. The elastic zone extends continuously along a full length in a circumferentially direction of said at least one of said front and rear waist regions to define at least part of said waist-hole; having a width defined in a longitudinal direction and attached directly to said topsheet so that a major portion of the width of said elastic zone extends beyond the terminal longitudinal edge of said covering zone and the terminal longitudinal edges of each of said top sheet and backsheet; being nonmonolithically formed with the covering zone; including a first member that is elastically stretchable in said circumferential direction of said at least one of said front and rear waist regions to a length greater than a transverse length of said covering zone, said first member extending between and to the transversely opposite side edges of the diaper; and including a second member covering said first member, said second member also extending between and to the transversely opposite side edges of the diaper, said second member being inelastically stretchable and having a length greater than the transverse length of said covering zone and attached to the terminal longitudinal edge of said covering zone so as to form gathers that extend along the entire length of said at least one of said front and rear waist regions in the circumferential direction between and to each of the opposite side edges of the diaper. The elastic zone is formed by attaching the second member to the first member so that when the first member contracts gathers are formed in the second member so that overall gathered length of said second member is substantially equal to the length of the covering zone; and attaching the gathered second member to the covering zone.