A method for manufacturing the steel plate consisting of 0.04% to 0.15% C, 0.1% to 2.0% Si, 0.8% to 2.0% Mn, 0.025% or less P, 0.020% or less S, 0.001% to 0.100% Al, 0.010% to 0.050% Nb, and 0.005% to 0.050% Ti on a mass basis, further Cu, Ni, Cr, Mo, and N on a mass basis such that 0.5% ≤ Cu + Ni + Cr + Mo ≤ 3.0% and 2.0 ≤ Ti/N ≤ 4.0 are satisfied, and optionally further one or more of 0.01% to 0.10% V, 0.01% to 1.00% W, 0.0005% to 0.0050% B, 0.0005% to 0.0060% Ca, 0.0020% to 0.0200% of a REM, and 0.0002% to 0.0060% Mg on a mass basis, the remainder being Fe and inevitable impurities, wherein the area fraction of polygonal ferrite is less than 10%, the effective grain size at the through-thickness center is 15 μm or less, and the standard deviation of the size distribution of the effective grain size is 10 μm or less, and wherein the steel plate has a yield strength of 500 MPa or more, a tensile strength of 600 MPa or more and a ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (vTrs) of -60°C or less, the method comprising: a heating step of heating a steel plate having the composition specified in above to a temperature of 950°C to 1,150°C; a recrystallization temperature region rolling step of performing rolling with a rolling shape factor (ld/hm) of 0.5 or more and a rolling reduction of 6.0% or more per pass at a through-thickness center temperature of 930°C to 1,050°C three or more passes after the heating step; a non-recrystallization temperature region rolling step of performing rolling with a rolling shape factor of 0.5 or more and a total rolling reduction of 35% or more at a through-thickness center temperature of lower than 930°C one or more passes after the recrystallization temperature region rolling step; and a cooling step of performing cooling under conditions where cooling is started at a through-thickness center temperature of Ar 3 + 15°C or more and the average cooling rate of the through-thickness center from 700°C to 500°C is 3.5°C/sec or more after the non-recrystallization temperature region rolling step wherein the rolling shape factor is defined as follows: Id / hm = R h i − h 0 1 / 2 / h i + 2 h 0 / 3, where ld is the projected contact arc length, hm is the average thickness of a plate, R is the radius of rolls, h i is the thickness of the input plate, and h 0 is the thickness of the output plate in the rolling pass. a heating step of heating a steel plate having the composition specified in above to a temperature of 950°C to 1,150°C; a recrystallization temperature region rolling step of performing rolling with a rolling shape factor (ld/hm) of 0.5 or more and a rolling reduction of 6.0% or more per pass at a through-thickness center temperature of 930°C to 1,050°C three or more passes after the heating step; a non-recrystallization temperature region rolling step of performing rolling with a rolling shape factor of 0.5 or more and a total rolling reduction of 35% or more at a through-thickness center temperature of lower than 930°C one or more passes after the recrystallization temperature region rolling step; and a cooling step of performing cooling under conditions where cooling is started at a through-thickness center temperature of Ar 3 + 15°C or more and the average cooling rate of the through-thickness center from 700°C to 500°C is 3.5°C/sec or more after the non-recrystallization temperature region rolling step wherein the rolling shape factor is defined as follows: Id / hm = R h i − h 0 1 / 2 / h i + 2 h 0 / 3, where ld is the projected contact arc length, hm is the average thickness of a plate, R is the radius of rolls, h i is the thickness of the input plate, and h 0 is the thickness of the output plate in the rolling pass.