Disclosed are a heat-expandable microsphere having a high heat resistance and a high solvent tolerance, a method for producing the same and use of the same. The heat-expandable microsphere is composed of a shell comprising a thermoplastic resin and a blowing agent, which is encapsulated in the shell, capable of gasifying when heated. The thermoplastic resin comprises a copolymer obtained by polymerizing polymerizable components including a carboxyl group-containing monomer. The heat-expandable microsphere has been surface-treated with an organic compound that contains a metal belonging to the groups 3 to 12 in the periodic table.