A photomask blank has a light-shielding film composed of a single layer of a material containing a transition metal, silicon and nitrogen or a plurality of layers that include at least one layer made of a material containing a transition metal, silicon and nitrogen, and has one or more chrome-based material film. The high transition metal content ensures electrical conductivity, preventing charge-up in the photomask production process, and also provides sufficient chemical stability to cleaning in photomask production. The light-shielding film has a good resistance to dry etching of the chrome-based material film in the presence of chlorine and oxygen, thus ensuring a high processing accuracy.