A coated titanium dioxide pigment with good opacity and simultaneously good retention for use in decorative laminating paper characterized by a surface coating containing aluminum oxide phosphate and attached hollow bodies, e.g., hollow microbodies. A manufacturing method is characterized in that an aluminum containing component and a phosphorus containing component are first added to a TiO.sub.2 suspension, during which time the pH value does not drop below 10. The hollow bodies are subsequently added, followed by addition of at least one acidic component, as a result of which the pH value of the suspension is lowered to the range from about 4 to 9. In an alternative embodiment of the method, the suspension has a pH value of under 4 at the time of addition of the aluminum containing component and a phosphorus containing component.