A parting compound for green sand molding, which contains hydrocarbon oil as the principal agent and other essential components including a surfactant as a dispersant and an anionic surfactant and/or strongly basic amine as a wettability improver. This compound is used in the form of oil-in-water emulsion by diluting with water. Because of the dilutability with water, this compound can be readily stored and transported in a nonbulky state. Furthermore, the proportion of water can be increased as compared with that of the hydrocarbon oil in the step of applying the compound, thus contributing to resource saving and improvement in the resistance to fire hazard.