The cold forging Process applies surface lubricant coating in order to smooth the friction during the cold forging process. Currently, most of the lubrication processes apply the zinc phosphate coating, which requires 11 steps and disposes sludge. But the water based lubrication process, which has been newly developed, takes 3 steps only and does not cause sludge. In this study, we present the optimal condition of water based lubrication for the cold forging of axle shaft by an experimental design method. Experimental results with minitab shall be able to predict the optimum water based lubricating conditions for the cold forging processes