 productivity of wire electric discharge machining. The present invention provides a wire electric discharge machining method in which electric discharge is generated between the electrodes of a wire electrode and a workpiece so as to machine the workpiece by the electric discharge, comprising the steps of: a first step of conducting rough machining in a machining solution; and a second step of conducting finish machining in gas, wherein a relative traveling speed of the wire electrode with the workpiece in the second step is set at a constant speed not lower than a predetermined speed at which a short circuit between the electrodes can not continue for a predetermined period of time and more which has been previously set according to a required specification. The present invention also provides a wire electric discharge machining method in which electric discharge is generated between the electrodes of a wire electrode and a workpiece so as to machine the workpiece by the electric discharge, comprising the steps of: a first step of conducting rough machining in a machining solution; and a second step of conducting finish machining in gas, wherein a relative traveling speed of the wire electrode with the workpiece in the second step is set at a variable speed not lower than a predetermined speed at which a short circuit between the electrodes can not continue for a predetermined period of time and more which has been previously set according to a required specification. The present invention also provides a wire electric discharge machining method, in which the variable relative traveling speed is controlled so that it can be increased in the case where the number of normal electric discharge pulses per unit time is large