AIM To prepare the nanostructured lipid carriers of cryptotanshinone and to study their pharmacokinetics.METHODS For the nanostructured lipid carriers prepared by high presure homogenization method,particle size,Zeta potential,encapsulation efficiency,drug loading and in vitro drug release were determinedRats were given intragastric administration of the suspensions of cryptotanshinone and its nanostructured lipid carriers(15 mg/kg),resp.,after which HPLC was adopted in the content determination of cryptotanshinone,main pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated,and plasma concentration-time curves were drawn.RESULTS The obtained nanostructured lipid carriers of cryptotanshinone demonstrated the average particle size of(175. 26±6. 07)nm,PDI of 0. 068±0. 009,Zeta potential of(-34. 2 ± 3. 4) mV,encapsulation efficiency of( 87. 69 ± 1. 97) %,drug loading of(3. 75±0. 38) % and accumulative release rate within 36 h of 64. 13%.Compared with cryptotanshinone,the nanostructured lipid carriers of cryptotanshinone demonstrated elevated t_(max),t_(1/2),C_(max),AUC_(0-t) and AUC_(0-∞)(P< 0. 05,P < 0. 01),and relative bioavailability was increased to 226. 06%.CONCLUSION The cryptotanshinone nanostructured lipid carriers exhibit obvious sustained-release characteristics,along with improved bioavailability of oral absorption.