In this study, the defrosting behaviors according to the surface characteristics in the fin-tube heat exchanger is experimentally examined. It is found that the draining rate of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic heat exchangers are evenly dispersed during defrosting, compared with that of the bare one. It is caused by the high density frost for the hydrophilic heat exchanger, and surface characteristic for the hydrophobic heat exchanger, respectively. The rest period of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic heat exchangers are shorter and their weight of residual water are smaller than those of the bare heat exchanger The hydrophilic and hydrophobic heat exchangers are more effective than the bare one in terms of defrosting efficiency, and the hydrophobic heat exchanger is better than the hydrophilic one.