To provide an image forming method by which even if a silver salt photothermographic dry imaging material is rapidly heat-developed with a small low-cost laser imager using a resin lens, excellent image quality and less density variation due to a humidity change are ensured.

The image forming method includes heat-developing a silver salt photothermographic dry imaging material by irradiation with a laser beam using a scanning exposure section having a semiconductor laser, a polygon mirror and an imaging lens formed of a resin to record an image, wherein the imaging material has a photosensitive layer containing an organic silver salt, a silver halide, a binder and a reducing agent on a support, contains a radiant ray absorbing compound yielding an absorbance of 0.30-1.00 at the exposure wavelength in total in all layers on the photosensitive layer side of the support, and contains a radiant ray absorbing compound yielding an absorbance of 0.20-1.50 at the exposure wavelength in total in all layers on a side of the support opposite to the photosensitive layer side.