This invention relates to water-based hydrophilic coatings suitable for giving hydrophilicity primarily to the surface of aluminum and to a process for manufacturing precoated fin materials for heat exchangers with use of said coatings. The coatings are composed of colloidal silica with a dispersed particle diameter of 5 to 100 nm, water-soluble polymers containing at least carboxylic acid polymers, anionic surfactants and water; the colloidal silica and the water-soluble polymers are present at a weight ratio of 30:70 to 70:30 on a solid basis in a combined content of 4 to 20% by weight, the content of carboxyl group in the carboxylic acid polymers contained in the water-soluble polymers is 20 to 63% by weight, the anionic surfactants are alkali salts of sulfosuccinic acid monoalkyl esters with alkyl groups containing 1 to 18 carbon atoms and present in an amount of 5 to 20% by weight of the combined solid content of the colloidal silica and the water-soluble polymers, and the pH is 1 to 5 as a whole. The process for manufacturing precoated fin materials for heat exchangers comprises applying the water-based hydrophilic coatings to the surface of aluminum fin materials to a solid weight of 0.3 to 1.5 g/m.sup.2 and drying under heat.