Provided is a hydrophilic bulky nonwoven fabric that has excellent water permeability and is suitable as a surface material for a hygienic good such as the top sheet of a diaper in particular. This hydrophilic bulky nonwoven fabric comprises a thermoplastic fiber and is characterized by: having a nonwoven fabric surface structure in which when a unit section is defined in an X-direction and Y- direction with a measurement reference length in the surface of the nonwoven fabric being set to 100 µm the proportion of the sections where the maximum height within the unit section is 30% or greater with respect to the height (thickness) of said nonwoven fabric while no load is being applied in a Z-direction accounts for 50% or greater per 40000 sections which correspond to a surface area of 20 mm × 20 mm of the nonwoven fabric having a permeable flow length value of not more than 25 mm at a 45° inclination and having a fourth-time permeability index of at least 85%.
