A hot-rolling process prevents surface deterioration of the stainless steel sheet which forms during hot rolling of a stainless steel slab after heating in a heating furnace, and does not cause damage to the heating furnace nor a decrease in yield of the steel sheet. The hot-rolling process for a stainless steel slab includes heating a stainless slab containing 10 weight percent or more of chromium in a heating furnace and hot-rolling the slab. A surface treatment , which is used prior to the heating, composition is composed of a mixture containing at least one of a Ca compound and a Ba compound and a binder for binding the mixture to a slab surface and for forming a coating film on a slab surface.