An image forming material includes an image forming layer containing a water-insoluble and alkali-soluble resin, a light-heat converting agent and a compound represented by the following general formula (1). In general formula (1), R¹ to R³ independently represent an organic group, where R¹ represents a residue forming a ring containing a N¹ atom, R² and R³ may bond to each other to form a ring or at least one of R² and R³ may bond to R¹ to form a ring and X^- represents a conjugate base of an organic acid or inorganic acid. The ring containing the N¹ atom is preferably a piperidine ring. ##STR1##