The ink set of the present invention provides a high ejection stability, gives an image having an excellent hue, light-resistance and waterproofness and improves the image preservability under severe conditions in ink jet recording, in which the ink set comprising a plurality of inks different in hues, wherein the plurality of inks includes a yellow ink containing a coloring agent that is a dye having: a .lamda.max of from 390 nm to 470 nm; an I(.lamda.max+70 nm)/I(.lamda.max) ratio of not greater than 0.4, in which I(.lamda.max) is the absorbance at .lamda.max and I(.lamda.max+70 nm) is the absorbance at (.lamda.max+70 nm); and a forced fading rate constant of not greater than 5.0.times.10.sup.-2 [hour.sup.-1], an ink cartridge having the ink set received therein, an ink jet printer comprising the ink cartridge mounted therein and an image recording method.