Photoaddition reactions of aromatic carbonyl compounds with silyl thioketene acetals have been explored. The results of this study show that the acetonphenone react with dimethyl substituted silyl thioketene acetal competitively via either single electron transfer (SET)-desilylation or [2+2]-cycloaddition pathways to produce b-hydroxyester and oxetanes. In contrast, photochemical reactions of the benzaldehyde with dimethyl substituted silyl thioketene acetal mainly lead to the formation of oxetanes arising by [2+2] cycloaddition. A comparison of the results with those of silyl ketene acetal revealed that replacement of sulfur atom in ${alpha}$-silyl donor substrate bring about dramatic changes in chemoselectivities as well as excited state reaction mechanism.