Provided is a fluorine-containing polymer which has no perfluoroalkyl group of 4 or more carbon atoms and which, when formed together with a photoacid generator into a film, shows water repellency after film formation, but becomes hydrophilic by the action of an acid generated under light irradiation, and thus serves as a pattern forming material capable of forming a film with high sensitivity and resolution. A fluorine-containing polymer according to the present invention has a repeating unit of the formula (1) where R1 is a hydrogen atom, a fluorine atom or a C1-C10 alkyl group; R2 to R5 are each independently a hydrogen atom or a C1-C10 alkyl group; X is a single bond or a divalent group; Y is a C1-C3 fluoroalkyl or carboxylate (—COOR) group; R is a C1-C3 fluoroalkyl group; and seven or less of hydrogen atoms contained in the substituent group may be substituted with fluorine.