To obtain stable development processing performance by incorporating ascorbic acid and a compound to be allowed to release alkali by reaction.

This developing solution for the silver halide photographic sensitive material contains the ascorbic acid and the compound to be allowed to release alkali by reaction, such as decomposition reaction and reaction between different compounds. For example, when potassium sulfite is added to aldehyde, the adduct of the aldehyde and suifite, and potassium hydroxide are produced. Lowering of pH in ascorbic acid with the lapse of time varies in accordance with conditions, such as the opening area of the processing bath of an automatic developing machine, temperature, pH, ascorbic acid concentration, and oxygen dissolution speed to the developing solution, but the nucleophilic addition velocity of the alkali releasing speed in the developing solution can be selected by selecting the compound to be subjected to the nucleophilic addition.