PURPOSE: To easily obtain the subject compound useful as a heat-sensitive recording material or a synthetic intermediate for pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, photographic chemicals, etc., in high yield at a low cost by reacting a sulfonyl chloride with a hydroquinone in the presence of a Lewis acid.

CONSTITUTION: The objective compound of formula II can be produced by the esterification reaction of a sulfonyl chloride compound of formula R1-SO2Cl (R1 is alkyl, cycloalkyl, aralkyl, etc.) with a hydroquinone compound of formula I (R2 is halogen, nitro, cyano, hydroxy, lower alkyl, etc.; (n) is 0-2) in the presence of a Lewis acid catalyst (e.g. zinc chloride) in a solvent (e.g. toluene) at 10-170°C. The amount of the sulfonyl chloride is 0.2-2.0mol per 1mol of the hydroquinone and that of the Lewis acid is 0.01-30wt.% based on 1 pt.wt. of the sulfonyl chloride. The reaction can be carried out in a mixed system without using a dropping operation, etc.