According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a process of fabricating a steel material by performing a heat treatment to a steel material having high strength, in order to reduce hardness at one part of the steel material to less than hardness at other parts of the steel material, wherein the heat treatment comprises a heating step in which a portion having a certain depth from a surface of the steel material is rapidly heated by induction heating or direct energization heating, and a cooling step in which the steel material, which has been subject to the heating step, is rapidly cooled a predetermined time after the heating step, and a heating temperature in the heating step is Ac1 transforming point or more.