An ink-jet recording ink which contains water, a coloring material and a surfactant, wherein the surfactant is in a content of from 0.6 to 5% by mass in the ink, and the ink further contains a block compound represented by the following formula (I): HO--(EO).sub.a--(PO).sub.b--(EO).sub.c--H (I) wherein EOs each represent an ethylene oxide moiety; PO represents a propylene oxide moiety; a, b and c satisfy a.gtoreq.0, 2.ltoreq.b.ltoreq.12, c.gtoreq.0 and 1.ltoreq.a+c.ltoreq.60; and the ethylene oxide moiety/-ies in one molecule is/are in a proportion of from 20 to 80% on the basis of mass. Also disclosed are an ink-jet recording process and an ink-jet recording apparatus which make use of this ink.