An ink for sublimation transfer ink jet recording includes water, at least one sugar alcohol containing not less than four OH groups, a sublimation dye, a dispersant, and a compound expressed by the following chemical formula (I): R--O--(CH.sub.2CH.sub.2O).sub.n--H (I) where R is an alkyl group having a carbon number of 25 to 150 and n is from 2 to 100. The ink is printed on a sheet medium by ink jet printing, and then the sheet medium is heated to sublimate and transfer the sublimation dye onto an object to be dyed. The ink for ink jet recording and the sublimation transfer dyeing method using the ink not only can maintain performances such as storage stability and high-quality recording images, but also can reduce environmental pollution, effectively prevent nozzle clogging, exhibit good dispersion stability, and achieve a high redispersion property that ensures stable ejection both during long continuous operation and after stopping the operation for a long time.