The invention provides a waterborne external thermal insulation coating. The coating consists of the following components in part by weight: 25 to 50 parts of functional filler, 30 to 50 parts of emulsion, 20 to 35 parts of filler, 8 to 20 parts of film-forming aid, 1 to 3 parts of wetting dispersant, 1 to 2 parts of propylene glycol, 1 to 2 parts of defoaming agent, 0.5 to 1.5 parts of mildew preventive, 1 to 5 parts of thickening agent and 10 to 20 parts of water. The invention is characterized in that: the coating is safe and environment-friendly, has excellent waterproof and anticorrosive properties, high thermal resistance and reflectivity, excellent thermal insulation property, and good weather resistance, is convenient to construct, and can be well adhered to various base materials, and the density of a dry film is low; an extremely thin hollow cavity layer is formed after the coating is coated on the surface of a base material and then is dried, so that an effective thermal barrier is formed; functional filler particles have large heated cathodes, low coefficient of thermal conductivity, and high heat reflectivity; the consumption of energy sources is remarkably reduced; the coating can reflect, refract and scatter thermal radiation and stop heat conduction; and the energy is saved.