The present invention provides a method for producing resin beads which can provide various types of products, such as cosmetics, imparted with superior tactile impression, spreadability on the skin, transparency, and product stability, and which can be substituted for resin particles composed of a synthetic material derived from petroleum. The method is a method for producing resin beads containing a cellulose derivative as a main component. The production method includes: a suspension preparation step of mixing an oil phase containing the cellulose derivative and an organic solvent that dissolves the cellulose derivative, the organic solvent having a water-solubility of 0.1 to 50.0 g, and an aqueous phase containing a dispersion stabilizer, thereby preparing a suspension containing oil droplets containing the cellulose derivative and the organic solvent; and an oil droplet contraction step of adding water to the suspension, thereby contracting the oil droplets, wherein the water is added to the suspension in such a way as to satisfy the following expression (A) until a content of the organic solvent in the suspension becomes equal to or less than the water-solubility of the organic solvent. (W/S)/T≤1.00  (A), wherein W: an addition amount of water (parts by mass),
S: an amount of the suspension (parts by mass), and
T: a time (minutes) required for addition.