  We present the first study of the rare annihilation decay $\bar{B}^0_d \to
\phi\gamma$ in the Standard Model. Using QCD factorization formalism, we find
${\cal B}(\bar{B}^0_d \to\phi\gamma)=3.6\times 10^{-12}$. The smallness of the
decay rate in the Standard Model make the decay a sensitive probe of new
physics contributions. As an example, we calculate the effects of R-parity
violating couplings. Within the available upper bounds for
$|\lambda^{''}_{i23}\lambda^{''}_{i12}|$ and
$|\lambda^{'}_{i32}\lambda^{'*}_{i12}|$, ${\cal B}(\bar{B}^0_d \to\phi\gamma)$
could be enhanced to order of $10^{-9}\sim 10^{-8}$, which might be accessible
at LHCB, B-TeV and the planning super high luminosity B factories at KEK and
SLAC.
