A method and an arrangement for manufacturing calendered paper or board particularly in the on-line manufacturing method. In the method, a base web is formed from a mixture of water and pulp supplied from the headbox and the web is dried by removing water over the press section and over the dryer section by heating. The formed web is calendered at least once to modify the surface on at least one of its sides. Before calendering the cross-direction thickness profile of the web is standardized and calendering is carried out by means of a long-nip calender, whereby good surface quality is obtained without losing the bulk or stiffness of the web.