The bark of Alnus japonica has been used for the treatment of fever, hemorrhage and diarrehea in oriental traditional medicine. Recently, it was revealed that the diarylheptanoids from the bark of Alnus japonica possess anti-inflammatory activity and are expected to be applicable for atopic dermatitis. In this study, oregonin, one of major active components in the bark of Alnus japonica, was developed in the form of semisolid formulations for topical delivery. Oregonin was incorporated into four ointment bases: O/W cream, W/O cream, hydrophilic ointment and lipophilic ointment. Oregonin release from all formulation prepared was evaluated. Franz cell method and immersion method were employed to characterize the release patterns of drug from each formulation based on solvent availability. O/W cream showed a better release profile than the other formulations when evaluated with Franz cell method with an order of O/W cream, hydrophilic ointment, W/O cream and lipophilic ointment. In the immersion method, hydrophilic ointment showed the greatest release rate at times 1 hour exceeding compared to other bases with an order of hydrophilic ointment, O/W cream, W/O cream and lipophilic ointment. Hydrophilicity and solvent availability of formulation seems to significantly influence the release rate of oregonin from ointment bases. In this study, we successfully characterized the oregon in ointment and found that o/w cream is a promising formulation for the topical delivery of oregonin.