A cleaning solution for semiconductor substrates comprising a nonionic surface active agent of the formula (1) and/or the formula (2), a chelating agent and a chelating accelerator:
CH3—(CH2)l—O—(CmH2mO)n—X (1)
wherein l, m and n independently represent a positive number, and X represents a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group;
CH3—(CH2)a—O—(CbH2bO)d—(CxH2xO)y—X (2)
wherein a, b, d, x and y independently represent a positive number, b and x are different, and X represents a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group.