The steel wire material of the present invention contains 0.05 to 1.2% of C (mass %; same for the chemical components hereafter), 0.01 to 0.5% of Si, 0.1 to 1.5% of Mn, 0.02% or less (but not 0%) of P, 0.02% or less (but not 0%) of S, and 0.005% or less (but not 0%) of N, with the balance being iron and inevitable impurities. The wire material has a scale layer that is no thicker than 7.0 μm or less. The scale layer has an FeO percentage of 30 to 80 vol % and an Fe2SiO4 percentage of less than 0.1 vol %. The scale layer that is formed will not peel when cooled after hot rolling or during storage and transport, but will easily peel during mechanical descaling.