To provide a method for producing a macromolecular compound for photoresist, affording good quality in the film-forming step of semiconductor production process when used as a resin component of a resin composition for the photoresist.

The method comprises the following process: Monomers essentially comprising a monomer A bearing such a group as to make the monomer soluble to an alkali on being eliminated by an acid and a monomer B having a polar group-containing alicyclic skeleton and a polymerization initiator are dissolved in a solvent followed by carrying out a polymerization while dripping the resultant solution into a solvent heated to the polymerization temperature. The resultant polymerization solution is added to a poor solvent(precipitating solvent) to precipitate the resultant polymer, which is centrifuged by a centrifugal separator at the centrifugal force of 400-700 G(G: acceleration of gravity) to remove the solvent. The resultant wet crystal is dissolved in a glycol-based solvent followed by distillation at reduced pressures to effect concentration to obtain the objective macromolecular compound in the form of a solution.