A photosensitive composition (I) for volume hologram recording includes a binder polymer (A), a photo-induced cationically polymerizable compound (B), a photoinitiator (C), and a sensitizing dye (D), in which the binder polymer (A) is a polymer containing naphthalene rings and having a weight-average molecular weight of 1×104 to 100×104. A method produces a photosensitive composition (II) for volume hologram recording by mixing a binder polymer (A′), a photo-induced cationically polymerizable compound (B′), a photoinitiator (C′), and a sensitizing dye (D′), in which the photo-induced cationically polymerizable compound (B′) has been subjected to a heating treatment at a temperature equal to or lower than the boiling point of the compound (B′).