Environmental-friendly wood-based panels with low resin content were developed by adding a small amount of phenol formaldehyde (PF) resin and water-repellent paraffin to effectively control the release of free formaldehyde and thickness swelling of the boards. This research was designed to investigate the relations between the various manufacturing conditions and product properties, the effects of board desity, resin content and paraffin content on modulus of elasticity, modulus of rupture, internal bond strength and thickness swelling of the boards were demonstrated. Finally we reach a conclusion: under the pressing pressure of 5MPa, pressing temperature 180°C, pressing time 7min, resin content 3% and paraffin content 1.5%, the panel with a density of 0.7 g/cm3 can meet the national standard GB/T 4897.2-2003—for general purpose particleboards used in dry conditions. So it is possible to develop the environmental-friendly wood-based panel with low formaldehyde emission.