A sublimation thermal transfer recording medium and a thermal transfer recording method that can remove background stain and the like, and can realize gradation printing with high accuracy and good correlation between the heat quantity applied and the coloring density are provided. The sublimation thermal transfer recording medium includes a base sheet having formed on one surface thereof a number of thermal transfer dye layers having different hues in parallel to each other. The thermal transfer dye layers contain a resin material having a weight average molecular Mw of about 100,000 or less, and preferably about 60,000 or less, as a main component of a binder resin, and contain a block copolymer silicone resin. The silicone resin preferably includes an amount of Si that ranges from about 5% to about 30% by weight, and a mixing ratio of the resin material and the silicone resin is preferably from about 99:1 to about 70:30.