The invention provides a method for controlling the head and tail shapes of hot-rolled strip steel. For the control on the head shape of strip steel, the smooth switching between the balancing and roll bending of a rack is controlled through a steel biting rising edge signal of the rack; and for the control on the tail shape of the strip steel, the smooth switching between the roll bending and balancing of a follow-up rack is controlled through a steel throwing falling edge signal of an upstream rack. According to the invention, through the reasonable design on a hydraulic balancing and roll bending control scheme of a working roll of a rear finishing mill, phenomena such as the head and tail shapes of strip steel are deteriorated due to the instantaneous switching between balancing and roll bending, and the like can be effectively prevented, thereby improving the quality of head and tail shapes of the strip steel, avoiding the occurrence of creasing and strip breakage accidents, and reducing the production cost.