There is provided a method for manufacturing a printed wiring board that allows molten scattered Cu and an overhang to be selectively removed while scarcely decreasing a thickness of wires, and an electrolytic etching solution suitably used in the method. In the method for manufacturing a printed wiring board in which a via that reaches from a surface copper layer 3 to an inner-layer copper layer 2 of a multilayer board in which copper layers 3 and insulating layers 1 are alternately layered is machined by means of a laser, a process of machining the via including steps of forming a laser absorbing layer 4 on a surface of a copper layer 3 disposed on the surface of the multilayer board, irradiating the laser, performing an electrolytic etching and removing the laser absorbing layer 4 is carried out in this order.