A laser annealing method comprising: (a) preparing a semiconductor substrate in which dopants are added to a relatively deep area of a surface layer portion at relatively low concentration and dopants are added to a relatively shallow area at relatively high concentration; and (b) irradiating the semiconductor substrate with a laser beam so that high concentration dopants added to the relatively shallow area are activated by melting the semiconductor substrate to a position deeper than the area with the high concentration dopants added thereto and low concentration dopants added to the relatively deep area are activated without melting the semiconductor substrate to the area with the low concentration dopants added thereto, wherein: in the irradiating step (b), the dopants added to the relatively shallow area are activated by irradiating the semiconductor substrate with a first pulsed laser beam having a relatively short pulse width to melt the semiconductor substrate at an irradiated position, and the dopants added to the relatively deep area are activated by irradiating the semiconductor substrate with a second pulsed laser beam having a relatively long pulse width which is greater than or equal to 20 times the pulse width of the first pulsed laser beam, in the irradiating step (b), the dopants added to the relatively shallow area are activated by irradiating the semiconductor substrate with the first pulsed laser beam to melt the semiconductor substrate at the irradiated position, in a state where the semiconductor substrate is heated, by irradiating the semiconductor substrate with the second pulsed laser beam, to a temperature at which the semiconductor substrate does not melt; a fundamental wave or a second harmonic of a Q-switched solid-state laser is used as the first pulsed laser beam, and a semiconductor laser having a wave length longer than or equal to 808 nm and less than or equal to 950 nm is used as the second pulsed laser beam. (a) preparing a semiconductor substrate in which dopants are added to a relatively deep area of a surface layer portion at relatively low concentration and dopants are added to a relatively shallow area at relatively high concentration; and (b) irradiating the semiconductor substrate with a laser beam so that high concentration dopants added to the relatively shallow area are activated by melting the semiconductor substrate to a position deeper than the area with the high concentration dopants added thereto and low concentration dopants added to the relatively deep area are activated without melting the semiconductor substrate to the area with the low concentration dopants added thereto, in the irradiating step (b), the dopants added to the relatively shallow area are activated by irradiating the semiconductor substrate with a first pulsed laser beam having a relatively short pulse width to melt the semiconductor substrate at an irradiated position, and the dopants added to the relatively deep area are activated by irradiating the semiconductor substrate with a second pulsed laser beam having a relatively long pulse width which is greater than or equal to 20 times the pulse width of the first pulsed laser beam, in the irradiating step (b), the dopants added to the relatively shallow area are activated by irradiating the semiconductor substrate with the first pulsed laser beam to melt the semiconductor substrate at the irradiated position, in a state where the semiconductor substrate is heated, by irradiating the semiconductor substrate with the second pulsed laser beam, to a temperature at which the semiconductor substrate does not melt; a fundamental wave or a second harmonic of a Q-switched solid-state laser is used as the first pulsed laser beam, and a semiconductor laser having a wave length longer than or equal to 808 nm and less than or equal to 950 nm is used as the second pulsed laser beam.