Abstract: Radiation-curable water-dilutable urethane resins obtainable by reacting cycloaliphatic and/or aromatic diisocyanates with a mixture of a (meth)acryloyl-containing dihydroxy compound in an amount such that the amount of reactive hydroxyl groups present therein is from 0.2 to 0.6 mol, and with a tri or tetrahydric polyol which has been partly esterified with (meth)acrylic acid and has a residual average hydroxyl functionality of from 1.0 to 1.4 in the molecule, in an amount such that the amount of the reactive hydroxyl groups is from 0.4 to 0.8 mol, the sum of the amounts of the reactive hydroxyl groups always being 1.0 mol, and from 40 to 60% of the isocyanate groups being converted into urethane groups, and reacting the resulting intermediate with an aliphatic saturated monocarboxylic acid having at least two hydroxyl groups in an amount such that the amount of the reactive hydroxyl groups is from 0.