The objective of this study was to develop an ocular drug delivery system based on nanostructured lipid carrier and investigate its in vitro and in vivo characteristics. Ibuprofen was chosen as the model drug. Four different formulations of ibuprofen nanostructured lipid carriers were prepared by melted-ultrasonic methods; gelucire 44/14 was screened as one of the solid lipid matrix materials due to the good particle size dispersion and excellent contribution to the corneal permeability of the model drug. The modified Franz-type diffusion cells and isolated corneas were used in the test of drug corneal permeability and the in vivo releasing tests were carried out using microdialysis method. gelucire 44/14 and transcutol P could enhance the corneal permeability by different mechanisms. The corresponding apparent permeability coefficients (P(app)) were 1.28 and 1.36 times more than that of the control preparation. Stearylamine could prolong the pre-cornea retention time of the model drug to some extent. Ibuprofen nanostructured lipid carriers displayed controlled-release property. The AUC of the optimized formulation of ibuprofen nanostuctured lipid carriers was 3.99 times more than that of ibuprofen eye drops).