A process for developing a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is disclosed, comprising processing, after exposure, a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material which comprises a support having thereon at least one light-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer, the emulsion layer or other hydrophilic colloid layer containing a hydrazine-base nucleating agent having an anionic group in the vicinity of the hydrazine group or a nonionic group of forming an intramolecular hydrogen bond with the hydrogen atom of the hydrazine, or containing at least one hydrazine nucleating agent selected from the compounds represented by formula (I), and a nucleating accelerator, with a developer having a pH of from 9.0 to 11.0 and containing: (1) from 0.2 to 0.75 mol/l of a dihydroxybenzene-base developing agent, (2) from 0.001 to 0.06 mol/l of a 1-phenyl-3-pyrazolidone-base or p-aminophenol-base auxiliary developing agent, (3) from 0.3 to 1.2 mol/l of free sulfite ions, and (4) a compound represented by formula (II); wherein the replenishing amount of the developer is 225 ml/m.sup.2 or less.