Disclosed is a thermal transfer sheet that can meet demands for increased printing speed in thermal transfer, higher density of thermally transferred images, and higher quality. The thermal transfer sheet comprises a substrate and an adhesive layer and a dye layer provided in that order on one side of the substrate, wherein the adhesive layer comprises a polyvinylpyrrolidone resin and a composition for suppressing hygroscopic properties of the polyvinylpyrrolidone resin.