According to the present invention 6, there is provided a thermosetting resin represented by the formula (17), a resin composition for laminates containing the above thermosetting resin, prepreg obtained by using the resin composition and a printed wiring board, wherein ???X??? is represented by the formula (18) in which R1, R2, R7 and R8 may be the same or different and are a halogen atom, an alk