We perform the frequency-domain waveform inversion based on the residual-selection strategy. In the residual-selection strategy, we classify time-domain residual wavefields into several groups according to the order of absolute amplitudes. Because the residual wavefields are normalized after regularization of the gradient directions within each group, the residual-selection strategy plays a role in enhancing the small-amplitude wavefields, which contributes to improving the deep parts of inverted subsurface images. After classifying residuals in the time domain, they are transformed to the frequency domain. Waveform inversion is performed in the frequency domain using the back-propagation technique which has been popularly used in reverse-time migration. The residual-selection strategy is applied to the SEG/EAGE salt and IFP Marmousi models. Numerical results show that the residual-selection strategy yields better results than the conventional frequency-domain waveform inversion.