Provided is a heavy wall electric resistance welded steel pipe for a line pipe having a high strength of X52 grade or more specified by the API and a high toughness. By using, as a raw material, a thick hot-rolled steel sheet having a chemical composition containing, by mass%, C: 0.02% or more and 0.10% or less, Si: 0.05% or more and 0.30% or less, Mn: 0.80% or more and 2.00% or less, and Nb: 0.010% or more and 0.100% or less and satisfying the condition that a carbon equivalent Ceq is 0.25% or more and 0.50% or less, a microstructure including a bainitic ferrite phase and/or a bainite phase, a high strength of 52 ksi or more in terms of yield strength and a high toughness of -45°C or lower in terms of fracture transition temperature vTrs, an electric resistance weld zone having a microstructure including a bainitic ferrite phase and/or a bainite phase and satisfying the condition that the ratio of the average crystal grain size of the coarsest-grain portion to the average crystal grain size of the finest-grain portion is 2.0 or less in every portion in the wall thickness direction is obtained by performing a heat treatment on an electric resistance weld zone including performing induction heating such that an electric resistance weld zone has a minimum temperature of 830°C or higher and a maximum temperature of 1150°C or lower and performing a cooling treatment to a cooling stop temperature of 550°C or lower at an average cooling rate of 10°C/s or more and 70°C/s or less in every portion in the wall thickness direction. With this method, the heavy wall electric resistance welded steel pipe has high toughness, and 0.80 mm or more in terms of critical opening displacement ´ at a testing temperature of -25°C in a CTOD test even in the electric resistance weld zone.