A method for manufacturing a heavy duty pneumatic tire including a tread that comes into contact with a road surface and a belt located radially inward of the tread, using a vulcanizing apparatus including a mold for molding the tire, the method comprising: a step of preparing an uncured tire including the tread and the belt; a step of putting the uncured tire into the mold; and a step of expanding the uncured tire in diameter and pressurizing and heating the uncured tire in the mold, characterized in that the belt includes a plurality of layers stacked in a radial direction, and, among the plurality of layers, a layer having a largest width in an axial direction is a first reference layer, a layer stacked at an outer side of the first reference layer is a second reference layer, and a layer located at an innermost side in the radial direction is a third reference layer, a ratio of a center stretch Sc, at a center portion of the third reference layer, indicated by the following formula to a shoulder stretch Ss, at an end portion of the third reference layer, indicated by the following formula is not less than 1 and not greater than 3, and the shoulder stretch Ss is not less than 1%, (shoulder stretch Ss) 100 × Rsa − Rsb / Rsb (center stretch Sc) 100 × Rca − Rcb / Rcb where Rsa is an inner diameter of the end portion of the third reference layer in the tire, Rsb is an inner diameter of the end portion of the third reference layer in the uncured tire, Rca is an inner diameter of the center portion of the third reference layer in the tire, and Rcb is an inner diameter of the center portion of the third reference layer in the uncured tire, and Rsa and Rca are measured in a state where the internal pressure of the tire is adjusted to 10% of the normal internal pressure, and no load is applied to the tire. a step of preparing an uncured tire including the tread and the belt; a step of putting the uncured tire into the mold; and a step of expanding the uncured tire in diameter and pressurizing and heating the uncured tire in the mold, characterized in that the belt includes a plurality of layers stacked in a radial direction, and, among the plurality of layers, a layer having a largest width in an axial direction is a first reference layer, a layer stacked at an outer side of the first reference layer is a second reference layer, and a layer located at an innermost side in the radial direction is a third reference layer, a ratio of a center stretch Sc, at a center portion of the third reference layer, indicated by the following formula to a shoulder stretch Ss, at an end portion of the third reference layer, indicated by the following formula is not less than 1 and not greater than 3, and the shoulder stretch Ss is not less than 1%, (shoulder stretch Ss) 100 × Rsa − Rsb / Rsb (center stretch Sc) 100 × Rca − Rcb / Rcb where Rsa is an inner diameter of the end portion of the third reference layer in the tire, Rsb is an inner diameter of the end portion of the third reference layer in the uncured tire, Rca is an inner diameter of the center portion of the third reference layer in the tire, and Rcb is an inner diameter of the center portion of the third reference layer in the uncured tire, and Rsa and Rca are measured in a state where the internal pressure of the tire is adjusted to 10% of the normal internal pressure, and no load is applied to the tire.