This invention relates to an aqueous coating composition comprising an acrylic or polyester resin (A); a curing agent (B); and a blocked isocyanate group-containing urethane resin emulsion (C) having a weight average molecular weight of 2,000 to 50,000, which is prepared using a polyisocyanate component and a polyol component as starting materials, the polyisocyanate component comprising an alicyclic diisocyanate, and the polyol component comprising a polycarbonate diol in an amount of 50 mass % or more, based on the total amount of the polyol component; (i) when the component (A) is an acrylic resin, the aqueous coating composition comprising the component (C) in an amount of, as solids content, 20 to 60 mass %, based on the total solids content of the components (A), (B) and (C); and (ii) when the component (A) is a polyester resin, the aqueous coating composition comprising the component (C) in an amount of, as solids content, 10 to 50 mass %, based on the total solids content of the components (A), (B) and (C).