The work aims to analyze the characteristics of volatile substances in water-based adhesives from different manufacturers. Gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) was utilized to qualitatively analyze the volatile substances in various water-based adhesives. Biometric fingerprinting, principal component analysis (PCA), and Euclidean distance analysis were employed to analyze the differences among the different water-based adhesive samples. The water-based adhesive contained a total of eighty-eight volatile chemicals, which were classified into eleven major categories, including esters, ketones, alcohols, aldehydes, heterocycles, acids, aromatics, ethers, terpenes, amides, and nitriles. Among these categories, the 26 esters were the most prevalent, accounting for 38%-46% of the total volatile substances. The use of GC-IMS technology, biometric fingerprinting, PCA, and Euclidean distance analysis allows for effective differentiation of water-based adhesive samples from various manufacturers. Additionally, samples of different specifications from the same manufacturer exhibit high similarity. This technology provides a powerful tool for rapid traceability and identification of water-based adhesives, as well as analysis of differences in volatile substances.