To provide a water-soluble or water-dispersible hot-melt adhesive capable of being enhanced in solubility and dispersibility in water and other performance, such as adhesion under a high-temperature and high-humidity condition, heat stability, and coating performance at a low temperature, in a mutually well-balanced manner, and capable of being industrially produced at a low cost.

This water-soluble or water-dispersible hot-melt adhesive contains 0.01-30 pts.wt. of an anionic surfactant and 0.1-50 pts.wt. of a plasticizer based on 100 pts.wt. of a polyvinyl alcoholic resin having an average degree of polymerization of 50-1,200 and a degree of saponification of ≤60 mol%.