Ordinary thiolate (RS) reacts with diiodine (I) to afford an intermediate sulfenyl iodide (RSI) by releasing I; RSI is readily converted to disulfide (RSSR) by a disproportionation reaction. In the case of thiolate ArS containing very bulky acylamino groups forming NH···S hydrogen bonds, the crystal of the intermediate, [ArS-I-I], was obtained under usual conditions, and the structure was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. The results show that the intramolecular NH···S hydrogen bonds stabilized the intermediate [ArS-I-I], consistent with theoretical calculations.