Sensitized photo-oxygenation of a wide variety of acyclic 1,3-dienes was investigated. The 1,4-cycloaddition of singlet oxygen to acyclic conjugated dienes was closely related to the thermal Diels-Alder reaction in stereospecificity, and steric and electronic effects of substituents. Reactivity order of singlet oxygen toward conjugated dienes and isolated C—C double bonds was exhibited as follows: