A polishing liquid composition that makes it possible to provide a polished substrate surface on which scratches and/or waviness are reduced, without impairing productivity, is provided, and further, a method for manufacturing and polishing a substrate using this polishing liquid composition is provided. The polishing liquid composition contains an abrasive, a water-soluble polymer, and water, wherein the water-soluble polymer has a sulfonic acid group, and has an aromatic ring in each of a main chain and a side chain. The method for manufacturing a substrate, and the method for polishing a substrate, include performing polishing by supplying the above-described polishing liquid composition to a surface to be polished of a substrate to be polished, bringing a polishing pad into contact with the surface to be polished, and moving the polishing pad and/or the substrate to be polished.