Both surface topographical and chemical composition of nanoparticle coated paperboard was characterized to explain observed differences in surface wettability. TiO 2 particles induce superhydrophobicity with water contact angle (CA) of 161° whereas SiO 2 particles result in superhydrophilicity with 23° water CA. The nanoparticles were generated by the liquid flame spray (LFS) process. The morphological characterization of reference paperboard and nanocoated samples was performed using FESEM and AFM. Both XPS and CA measurements were used to evaluate chemical composition before and after nanoparticle deposition. Our results show that the LFS process can be used to create either hydrophobic or hydrophilic paperboard depending on the type of nanoparticles used for coating. The wettability differences were contributed to the attributed effect of surface chemistry and topography.