The article presents the results of the study of the effect of the initial metal microstructure in the surface layer of bunched rolling at the existing technology of rolling in the low-temperature range from bearing steel grades ШХ15 on the formation of decarburized layer after spheroidizing annealing. To meet the customer’s requirements for the metal quality, some studies of the microstructure of the subsurface zone of coiled steel have been carried out. There is a description of the developed process for cooling coiled steel made of bearing steel on an air-cooled roller table for wire rod. The effect of temperature-speed modes of coiled steel cooling on the size of the decarburized layer after spheroidizing annealing has been determined. The microstructure of coiled steel samples with a diameter of 16.5 mm, rolled according to the standard and experimental modes, as well as after spheroidizing annealing, has been studied. The causes of incomplete spheroidization of coiled steel in the subsurface layer have been revealed. The microstructure of hot-rolled samples rolled according to standard conditions has been evaluated and the effect of pearlite dispersion in the subsurface layer, which leads to overestimated values of the depth of the decarburized layer after spheroidizing annealing, has been established. An effective mode of cooling of coiled steel made of a bearing steel grade for subsequent spheroidizing annealing has been determined, which ensures the minimization of the decarburized layer and the uniformity of the microstructure along the entire coil length. The experimental mode, which consists in shifting the initial cooling temperature (in the laying coiler zone) by 30 °C, to the temperature range of 840‒860 °C, with 4 fans involved and the switching-on power of 30%, allowed to obtain a uniform structure in the surface zone (subsurface), both in the hot-rolled state (sorbite-like, fine-lamellar perlite) and in the annealed state (spheroidized), as well as to determine directions of further improvement of the technology