A continuous cold rolling and annealing apparatus for a steel strip so that interruption of a cold rolling mill part does not directly cause a continuous annealing furnace part to be interrupted, in which apparatus at least one cold rolling mill is located upstream of the entrance of a continuous annealing furnace and an intermediate reel for supplying a spare steel strip coil to said continuous annealing furnace, is arranged between the cold rolling mill and the continuous annealing furnace.