Photosensitive bis (halomethyloxadiazole) compounds which are capable of producing free radicals upon exposure to light represented by the following general formulae (1) to (4): ##STR1## The symbols in the above formulae are defined in the present specification. The photosensitive bis(halomethyloxadiazole) compound is useful in the fields of recording materials such as photosensitive protecting films, printing plates, photoresists, proofs, etc. Furthermore, a photosensitive transfer sheet using a photosensitive composition containing the photosensitive bis(halomethyloxadiazole) is useful in making a prepress proof for color proofing, a color display, etc.