Disclosed is a water-soluble coating composition, which is applied on the surface of fuel rods to prevent scratching of the surface of the fuel rods upon manufacturing a nuclear fuel assembly for light water reactors. This water-soluble coating composition facilitates the formation and removal of a coating film and the resulting coating film can exhibit strength and durability equivalent to those of an existing lacquer (nitrocellulose) coating film, and can thus be used as an alternative to lacquer, thereby easily removing the coating film and improving workplace safety, ultimately achieving improvements in the working environment and high workplace safety.