A method for finite element analysis of a hot rolling spiral steel spring forming process comprises a first step of simplifying a spring forming device, establishing a mandrel, a snapping block, a guide wheel, a tightening wheel and a tapped wheel model, determining the relative positions of the mandrel, the snapping block, the guide wheel, the tightening wheel and the tapped wheel model, and establishing a bar material finite element model; a second step of defining contact bodies and contact relations; a third step of defining the relations of mandrel rotation motion and axial motion, defining the rotation motion and axial motion as a function of time T, setting time parameters as Ti, enabling the thread pitch of a Ti time period to be Pi, enabling the rotation angle of the mandrel to be theta, enabling the rotation speed to be omega, enabling a motion equation of the mandrel rotation motion and axial motion to be as follows; a fourth step of establishing calculation, checking results, establishing a CAE model and submitting the calculation, and rolling a formed model. According to the method, the physical prototype manufacturing process is replaced with the virtual manufacturing process, the method is used for guiding a rolling forming process of a hot rolling spiral steel spring, trial-manufacture efficiency of a novel product is improved, and the trial-manufacture cost of the novel product is reduced. The method is suitable for simulating spiral cylindrical steel springs of random diameters.