Superhydrophilic surfaces with a static contact angle of nearly 0° were prepared by depositing SiO2 nanoparticles on stainless steel spheres in order to study the enhancement effect of superhydrophilic surface on pool boiling heat transfer. The boiling heat transfer characteristics during quench cooling on such superhydrophilic surfaces were investigated via the transient quchching method. The experimental results showed that the quenching rate was improved remarkably with the cool-down time duration being shortened by 56.5% as compared to the original surfaces. The critical heat flux and its corresponding wall superheat were both increased in the presence of the superhydrophilic surfaces, and the relative enhancements were 72.8% and 23.3%, respectively. Due to the improvement in wettability and the increased availability of nucleation sites, the heat transfer mechanisms in transition boiling regime were found to be significantly modified by the superhydrophilic surfaces. Two distinct subregimes were clearly  identified as the transitionfilm boiling and transitionnucleation boiling regimes.