A hot-rolled steel sheet is cooled by jetting cooling water from spray nozzles to a steel sheet conveyance region in a width direction of the steel sheet conveyance region. The steel sheet conveyance region is a region that the hot-rolled steel sheet occupies on conveyor rolls, a pair of spray nozzles is arranged on both lateral sides in the width direction of the steel sheet conveyance region, and a plurality of spray nozzle pairs are aligned in a conveyance direction of the hot-rolled steel sheet. In regard to a collision region of cooling water jetted from the spray nozzle at the steel sheet conveyance region, a far end in a jet direction is positioned at an end of the steel sheet conveyance region, and a near end is positioned on an inner side of the steel sheet conveyance region. In the spray nozzle pair, the near ends of two collision regions coincide in the width direction to form a meeting.