Waterborne adhesives (or water-based adhesives) are adhesives that are compounded with water as a diluent rather than a volatile organic solvent.

Water-based technology is well established in the adhesives and sealants industry. They have applications in all of the leading adhesive end-use markets.carpet backing, construction, packaging, and also in PSA labels and decals,

The main polymers used to formulate water-based adhesives are styrene-butadiene, acrylic, polyvinyl acetate (PVAC) and vinyl acetate-ethylene (VAE).

On an environmental point of view, waterborne adhesivses could be considered as low VOC adhesives, and should offer significant savings in avoided emission control equipment costs, permitting fees, and hazardous waste disposal charges.