Provided is an ink composition that can form a high-quality image free from bleeding or beading even on printing paper or off-set printing paper such as art paper, in particular, even in a case of low-resolution printing, and is excellent in the property of recovering from clogging even after having been left under environment of high temperature and low humidity. The ink composition for ink jet recording includes at least a coloring material, water, a slightly water-soluble alkanediol, and a polyalkylene glycol.