A process for processing a silver halide black and white photographic material, which comprises processing, after imagewise exposing, a silver halide black and white photographic material spectrally sensitized by a sensitizing dye with a processing solution containing at least one compound satisfying the following condition 1 and/or a salt thereof in an amount of at least 5.times.10.sup.-5 mol/liter;Condition 1:when 4 ml of an aqueous solution of 8.0.times.10.sup.-2 mol/liter of the compound is added to a mixture of 2 ml of an aqueous solution of 4.0.times.10.sup.-4 mol/liter of anhydro-5,5'-dichloro-9-ethyl-3,3'-bis(3-sulfopropyl)thiacarbocyanine hydroxide.pyridinium salt and 1 ml of an aqueous solution of 1.0.times.10.sup.-1 mol/liter of potassium chloride and the resultant solution is diluted with water to 10 ml, the molecular extinction coefficient of the aqueous solution at 624 nm is not higher than 1.0.times.10.sup.5.