A process for producing coated paper comprises applying an aqueous coating solution onto coating base paper and drying the coating base paper, wherein a steam provided for drying or gas composed mainly of a steam is brought into direct contact with paper sheet, heated for regeneration, and then circulation for re-use, in which owing to the improvements in the heat efficiency and drying rate in the drying step, not only the productivity is improved, but also a high-quality coated paper is stably produced with a good efficiency.