To provide an image forming method using a silver halide photographic sensitive material for an image setter applicable to high-speed processing and low-replenishment processing and being low in tendency to cause stains.

In the image forming method, the silver halide photographic sensitive material is provided on a support with a photosensitive silver halide emulsion layer and a nonphotosensitive hydrophilic colloidal layer, and one of both layers contains a hydrazine derivative. The photosensitive material contains a sensitizing dye in an amount of ≤10 mg/m2 and has a gelatin content, on the side of the support having the emulsion layer, of ≤3 g/m2. An image is formed by exposing this photosensitive material imagewise and processing it in an automatic developing machine comprising a developing bath, a fixing bath and a rinsing bath where ≥2 of them have a volume of 10-20 l and a height of 20-40 cm from the bottom of the bath to a solution level.