Provided is a method that makes it possible to manufacture a low-loss alkali-metal-doped optical fiber having excellent hydrogen resistance characteristics. This optical fiber manufacturing method is provided with: a drawing step for drawing the optical fiber preform in a drawing furnace and producing a silica glass-based optical fiber having a core region containing an alkali metal at an average concentration of at least 0.5 atom ppm and a cladding region surrounding the core region; and a heating step for heating the optical fiber in a heating furnace through which the optical fiber extracted from the drawing furnace passes.