A preparation method of waterborne crackle decorative coatings was reported in this paper and the factors that influence crack patterns were investigated. The crackle coating consisted of a waterborne basecoat and a waterborne topcoat. The basecoat was made from two-component epoxy emulsion and the topcoat was made from fluorine-containing acrylic emulsion, silicone-acrylic emulsion or styrene-acrylic emulsion. Three junction types of crack patterns were prepared by the three top coatings, which were T-junction, Y-junction and mixed junction. T-junction type with long and straight cracks was prepared from styrene-acrylic emulsion 296DS. Y-junction type with curve and short cracks was prepared from fluorine-containing acrylic emulsion A603C and mixed junctions type was made from silicone-acrylic emulsion. Crack patterns with different spacing were prepared by controlling the thickness of topcoat, dryness of basecoat or conditions of film forming. The characterize methods of type and spacing for crack pattern were developed and properties of coating film including adhesion, water resistance, scrub resistance and so on were tested. The results showed that the crackle coatings possessed satisfactory properties for practical application. (c) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.