To obtain good thickness from the tip part of a material to be rolled by predicting thickness deviation on the outlet side of each stand with high accuracy and correcting screw-down location based on this predicted value before the material to be rolled is bitten at the time of passing the material to be rolled through in hot finish rolling.

In a continuous hot rolling mill having plural stands, at the time of succeedingly biting the material 1 to be rolled with the rolling stands, based on thickness deviations detected at the stands with which a sheet is already bitten and the amount of variation between these thickness deviations, thickness deviation on the outlet side of the next biting stand is estimated by a predicting equation and, based on this estimated thickness deviation and the amount of correction of the screw- down location at the next biting stand is calculated. By successively correcting the parameters of the predicting equation using the actual results such as thickness deviation which is detected with a thickness meter 2 when the material 1 to be rolled reaches the thickness meter 2 provided on the outlet side of the stand and controlled variable of screw-down at each stand and the accuracy of the predicting equation is improved.