To provide an alkoxy disulfide as an antimicrobial agent.

A compound of the formula R1-CHR3-O-S-S-O-CHR4-R2 (wherein, R1 and R2 are each a five- or six-membered aromatic ring, and optionally, may have at most three substituents having electro-donicity, the two of which may arbitrarily combine with each other into other ring; R3 and R4 are each H, CH3 or CH2CH3) is introduced within, into or on an object exposed to pollution by microorganism in an antimicrobially effective quantity to inhibit the growth of the microorganism.