There is provided a method for manufacturing a grain-oriented electromagnetic steel sheet whose iron losses are reduced by laser beam irradiation, capable of improving the iron losses in both the L-direction and the C-direction while easily ensuring high productivity. The method for manufacturing a grain-oriented electromagnetic steel sheet reduces iron losses by scanning and irradiating a grain-oriented electromagnetic steel sheet with a continuous-wave laser beam condensed into a circular or elliptical shape at constant intervals in a direction substantially perpendicular to a rolling direction of the grain-oriented electromagnetic steel sheet, wherein when an average irradiation energy density Ua is defined as Ua=P/(Vc×PL) (mJ/mm2), where P (W) is average power of the laser beam, Vc (m/s) is a beam scanning velocity, and PL (mm) is an irradiation interval in a rolling direction, PL and Ua are in the following ranges: 1.0 mm≦PL≦3.0 mm, 0.8 mJ/mm2≦Ua≦2.0 mJ/mm2.