Provided is a tetrafluoroethylene copolymer consisting of a unit based on tetrafluoroethylene and a unit based on a monomer represented by CF₂CFOR^f1R^f2 (where R^f1 is a polyfluoroalkylene group which may contain an etheric oxygen atom and R^f2 is a polyfluorocycloalkyl group which may contain an etheric oxygen atom), wherein a content of the latter is from 0.005 to 0.5% by mass. The tetrafluoroethylene copolymer is excellent both in paste extrudability and in heat resistance, has characteristics such as excellent transparency of a molded product, and is suitably applicable to paste extrusion and compression molding.