A method for smelting nickel oxide ore, in which a pellet is formed from the nickel oxide ore, and the pellet is heat-reduced to obtain an iron-nickel alloy with a nickel grade of 4% or more, the method comprising: a pellet production step for producing a pellet from the nickel oxide ore, and a reduction step for heat-reducing the resulting pellet in a smelting furnace, the pellet production step comprising mixing raw materials containing at least the nickel oxide ore and a carbonaceous reducing agent to obtain a mixture, and agglomerating the mixture to form a pellet, wherein the mixed amount of the carbonaceous reducing agent is adjusted so that the amount of carbon is 70% or more and 200% or less when the total combined value of a chemical equivalent required for reducing nickel oxide contained in the resulting pellet into nickel metal and a chemical equivalent required for reducing ferric oxide contained in said pellet into ferrous oxide is taken as 100%, and the reduction step comprising pre-covering, before charging the resulting pellet into the smelting furnace, the furnace floor of the smelting furnace with a furnace floor carbonaceous reducing agent in an amount that can create a reducing atmosphere in which a metal shell formed on a surface layer portion of the pellet during the reduction heat treatment can be melted, and performing the reduction heat treatment with the pellet loaded onto the furnace floor carbonaceous reducing agent, the reduction heat treatment being performed at a heating temperature of 1350°C or more and 1550°C or less such that the metal particle and a slag are produced inside the formed metal shell and the metal shell is melted; wherein the time between the start of the reduction heat treatment and the removal of the pellet from the smelting furnace is less than 30 minutes, and performing partial reduction treatment in which some of the iron oxide contained in the metal shell formed in the reduction reaction is not reduced, such that 30% or more of the iron remains as iron oxide. a pellet production step for producing a pellet from the nickel oxide ore, and a reduction step for heat-reducing the resulting pellet in a smelting furnace, the pellet production step comprising mixing raw materials containing at least the nickel oxide ore and a carbonaceous reducing agent to obtain a mixture, and agglomerating the mixture to form a pellet, wherein the mixed amount of the carbonaceous reducing agent is adjusted so that the amount of carbon is 70% or more and 200% or less when the total combined value of a chemical equivalent required for reducing nickel oxide contained in the resulting pellet into nickel metal and a chemical equivalent required for reducing ferric oxide contained in said pellet into ferrous oxide is taken as 100%, and the reduction step comprising pre-covering, before charging the resulting pellet into the smelting furnace, the furnace floor of the smelting furnace with a furnace floor carbonaceous reducing agent in an amount that can create a reducing atmosphere in which a metal shell formed on a surface layer portion of the pellet during the reduction heat treatment can be melted, and performing the reduction heat treatment with the pellet loaded onto the furnace floor carbonaceous reducing agent, the reduction heat treatment being performed at a heating temperature of 1350°C or more and 1550°C or less such that the metal particle and a slag are produced inside the formed metal shell and the metal shell is melted; wherein the time between the start of the reduction heat treatment and the removal of the pellet from the smelting furnace is less than 30 minutes, and performing partial reduction treatment in which some of the iron oxide contained in the metal shell formed in the reduction reaction is not reduced, such that 30% or more of the iron remains as iron oxide. <EOS>