Maleic anhydride grafted high-density polyethylene (MAH-HDPE) film was used instead of urea-formaldehyde resin adhesive to face wood-based panels (WBP) such as finger-jointed wood panel, medium-density fiberboard (MDF), high-density fiberboard (HDF), and three-ply plywood with decorative wood veneer. The effects of hot pressing conditions on the physical-mechanical performance (surface bonding strength, water immersion performance, and hot-cold cycling performance) of overlain veneered panels were evaluated. Rheology analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) were used to study the characteristics of MAH-HDPE film. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the microstructure of the bonding interface. The veneered board using MAH-HDPE film as adhesive showed excellent properties, especially on water resistant and weather resistant performance. The veneered boards with finger-joint wood panel substrate could meet the Chinese national standard of type I grade veneered board of GB/T 17657 (2006), and the optimum hot pressing parameter was under a pressure of 1.3 MPa at 160 °C for 4 min. The MAH-HDPE film also can be applied to various other wood-based substrate materials for preparing veneered board. No glue penetration was observed on the surfaces.